The Beauty That Tamed the Beast
by Videl Warrior Princess
Summary: As Aeris remains in the castle as Cloud's prisoner, will she help the prince lift the curse? Or will there be no happy ending? [FFVII parody of B&B, Cleris]
1. The Curse

**A/N:** Everyone, whether they'll admit it or not, has at least once watched a Disney movie.  Because of my family duties as the official babysitter, and with my little sister's autism, I have seen almost every single Disney movie ever made almost a hundred times each.  And I have to say that one of my favorites is Beauty and the Beast.  And of course, next to Kingdom Hearts, FF7 is my all time favorite RPG.  So, with what little of a crazed mind I have left, I decided to do a FF7/Beauty and the Beast parody.  

**Great Super Gohan: **Oh my Kami…

**Pan: Warrior Bard:** Oh my…She had too much sugar again…

**Super Saiyan Trunks:** Oh dear…take cover…

**Videl: Warrior Princess: **What?  ::looks at their puzzled faces and arches her right brow::  What did I do?

**Great Super Gohan:** Sweetie, you've been working yourself too hard again…  ::puts hand on her shoulder::  Maybe that's why you're doing this.  Let's go home and you can get some rest.  ::smiles warmly::

**Super Saiyan Trunks:** I agree.  You need more sleep.

**Pan: Warrior Bard: **Yeah mommy.  You're scaring me.  Go home with daddy and I'm sure *Trunks* will take me home soon…   

**Great Super Gohan:** Over my dead body young lady…  ::growls and glares at Trunks::

**Videl: Warrior Princess:** ::puts hand on Gohan's shoulder and smiles at him lovingly::  You are right… I *am* kinda tired, but I'm *not* crazy!

**Super Saiyan Trunks:** ::coughs::

**Videl: Warrior Princess:** ::glares at Trunks momentarily, then returns her stare to Gohan::  I thought this would be neat.  But you are right, I need more rest.  Let's go home, ok? 

**Great Super Gohan:** Great!  ::picks up Videl and turns to look at Pan::  C'mon Pan, let's go home.  Your mom's tired.

**Pan: Warrior Bard: **Awww!…. but I want to stay with Trunks!  ::clings to Trunks' arm:: 

**Super Saiyan Trunks:** Uh… ::gets nervous::

**Great Super Gohan: **Now young lady… ::glares at Pan and Trunks, but mostly at Trunks::

**Videl: Warrior Princess:** ::peers over Gohan's shoulder and looks at Pan and Trunks::  You can stay out, just be back at ten.

**Pan: Warrior Bard:** Yea!  Thanks mom!

**Great Super Gohan:** ::gapes at Videl::  How could you do that?

**Videl: Warrior Princess:** How can I get any rest if our hyper daughter is with us?

**Great Super Gohan: **Good point.

**Super Saiyan Trunks:** Uh, what about the disclaimer Videl?

**Videl: Warrior Princess: **Oh well, since I'm going to let you two spend some time together, you two are going to be nice, grateful part-Saiyans and do it for me.  Ok?

**Super Saiyan Trunks:** I guess we can handle that.

**Great Super Gohan: **Well, ok then.  Cya kiddo.  ::carries Videl out::

**Pan: Warrior Bard:** He, he, he, he, she thinks she owns *both* DBZ *and* the Disney movie, so sue her!  BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Super Saiyan Trunks:** Uh oh… Pan… that wasn't wise…

**Videl: Warrior Princess:** PAN!!!!!  ::glares at Pan::

**Pan: Warrior Bard: **Oops!  I mean she *doesn't* own DBZ and that Disney movie!!!  

**Videl: Warrior Princess:** That's better.

Chapter One: The Curse 

A long time ago, in the kingdom of Nibelheim, there lived a handsome prince.  He had everything his heart desired: riches, the finest sword master to train him, the finest horses, the finest training grounds, and a lavish library.  But he was selfish and cold, nonchalant about the wellbeing of others.  

One dark, moonless, stormy night, an old man came knocking at the castle door, begging for a place to stay for the night.  His dark blue and black tattered rags were soak to the point they were beginning to tear; they smelt musty, like molding, rotting fruit; and were covered with mud.  His face with filled with folds of wrinkles, another sign of his age, and liver spots, with heavy bags under his eyes from probable lack of sleep.  In exchange for shelter from the turbulent storm, he would give him a single, still not fully bloomed, blue rose.  However, the prince turned him away, and the old man warned him not to be deceived by appearances only, but he refused him once again.  Then, the old man's haggard looks melted away into the great sorcerer Sephiroth.  The prince implored Sephiroth to forgive him and give him a second chance, but Sephiroth would not hear of it.

"It is too late," Sephiroth replied in his deep voice, stretching out a hand towards the prince.  "There is no love in your heart."  His hand glowed a bright jade green, and the same glow surrounded the frighten prince.  Dark brown fur began to grow all over his body, and when the prince tried to scream, a roar came out of his mouth.  "You shall take the form of this beast."  A long, bushy tail grew from the prince and dark, razor sharp claws grew from his toes and fingers and horns sprouted from his head.  "Until you can truly love another and earn her true love in return, you shall remain in this body."  The prince fell down to the ground on his knees and begged Sephiroth to change him back, however, Sephiroth paid him no mind and cast the spell over the entire palace and handed him two objects: a mirror, in which he could see anything, and the rose.  "This rose will continue to bloom for fifteen years…if you don't find her within that time span, you will be condemned to this form forever."  And before the prince could plead for forgiveness once more, Sephiroth had vanished, leaving the once arrogant prince alone with the curse.  


	2. I Hate Myself

**Videl:Warrior Princess:** Hey again my beloved readers (those that actually review and like my fics)!  I have returned with another chappie for this fic!  I'm sorry that this is another short one.  The next one won't be I promised.  I just don't want to drag it out too much.  Anyway, have fun, read, *and* review please!  I'll have the next one up as soon as I can!

**Great Super Gohan:** Wow, that was short!

**Pan: Warrior Bard:** You're telling me.  Mommy, are you feeling alright?

**Videl: Warrior Princess:** Huh?  Yeah, I am.  Let's go!  We gotta go watch Indi now!  ::raises fist in air and smiles wildly::

**Pan: Warrior Bard:** Yea!  Indiana!  Indiana!  Indiana!  ::jumps up and down, cheering::

**Great Super Gohan:** ::sighs::  I'm replaced by Harrison Ford in a movie made over 10 years ago, how sad…

**Videl: Warrior Princess:** Don't feel bad Gohan-kun!!  ::hugs Gohan::  You're still my number one bishie!  Now, let's go!  ::puts one arm on Gohan's shoulder and puts the other on Pan's and walks out with them::

Chapter Two: I Hate Myself… 

The prince once again tried to walk on two feet, but he fell down onto his hands, and he roared (literally) in frustration.  It had been two weeks since that fateful night, and still it was an unbearable hell.  He could talk at least, but in was in a gruff, deep, almost-in-a-growl voice.  "Damn it all!" he bellowed, slamming his fist into the ground.  A feather duster swept itself to his side and smiled at him reassuringly.  

"Don't fret Master.  You'll be able to walk again, and you'll find that girl, and everything will go back to the way it was," she said, but the beast shook his head slowly and sighed heavily.

"No Yuffie… things will never be the way they were…" he muttered sadly, burying his face into the palm of his hand.  

"Yes they will Master!  Sephiroth said all you have to do is fall in love with a girl and get her to fall in love with you!  That'll be so easy!" Yuffie tried to reassure him, but the cursed prince shook his head once more.

"Look at me!" he exclaimed, spreading out his arms and looking directly at her.  "I am a horrible, ugly beast!  Who could love such a monster??!"  Yuffie just stood there, mouth hanging open, trying to think of something to say to her sadden master to exhilarate his spirits.  "See?…Just as I said…" he muttered and turned to leave.  However, before he could even take one step, Yuffie swept right in front of him and looked at him seriously.  

"I could," she answered after taking  a gulp.  He stood there, trying to digest her words, and when he did, he faintly smirked at her.

"Thanks Yuffie…" he whispered and made his way back up to his chambers slowly.  He sighed somberly as he opened the door and took a glance at the old mirror that hung outside his room, and anger swelled up in his soul at his ugliness, overtook him, and he smashed the mirror into a million shards before walking in.  On all fours, he stormed in and went to the table in the back of the room and picked up the magic mirror.  "Show me the village of Midgar!" he ordered, and the mirror glowed green, and instead of his reflection, he saw the village in all its happy splendor.  He hissed in anger.  Those lucky souls, they didn't know how good they had it.  They still had their lives… they weren't monsters… like him…  Another growl came from his lips and he placed the mirror face down back on the table and crawled to his bed and plopped down on it, cursing his foolishness as he drifted off into a depressing dream.  "I hate myself…" he muttered before fully dozing off.


	3. Put One Foot In Front Of The Other

**Videl:Warrior Princess: **Hi everyone!  I'm back!!  Did you guys miss me?? 

**Audience: **… ::crickets chirp in background::

**Videl:WP: **Grrr….  Well, anyway, I **finally updated my fic!!

**The Author: **Yay!  She finally updated!!

**Videl:WP:** Yes, yes Aaron, I finally updated.  I only really did it so I could read more on your fic, which you threaten to not ever let me read again at school.  Anyway, to answer one reviewer's question, in this chapter, you finally get to find out who the prince is.

**The Author:** Yay!  ::jumps up and down for joy::  Oh wait, you already told me who it was; it's—

**Videl:WP:** HEY!!  ::clamps hand over Aaron's mouth::  Don't ruin my surprise!!  ::glares at Aaron::  Hai?

**The Author:** ::gives a muffled response, nodding his head while looking at her fearfully::

**Videl:WP:** Good.  ::removes hand::

**Great Super Gohan:** ::walks in::  Hey Videl…who's this?  ::points to Aaron, looking at him warily::

**Videl:WP:** Oh, this is my friend Aaron from school, the one writing the Final Fantasy soap opera fic I told you about.

**Great Super Gohan:** Oh ok.  Nice to meet you.

**The Author:** And you too.  ::whispers to Gohan::  I feel sorry for you… She's scary, really, REALLY scary…

**Great Super Gohan:** ::whispers back and laughs::  I know.

**Videl:WP:** HEY!  I HEARD THAT!!!

**The Author and Great Super Gohan:** ::gulps:: Oh no….

**Videl:WP:** I'll get you two back later… Anyway, I don't own FF7 or Beauty and the Beast, if I did… trust me… a LOT of things would be different… Enjoy!  The next chappie will be longer, I promise!!

Chapter Three: Put One Foot 

In Front of the Other

"I hope the Master is all right," a candleholder replied, hopping over to the other side of the table.  His eyes had a nervous glint to them as he waved his candle-filled "hands" around.

"Of course the master is okay!" a sharp female voice snapped.  The clock toddled over to the candlestick with a dour expression on her face.  "He's the strongest man in the whole kingdom, Reno!"  

"I know, I know," Reno said with a slight sigh.  "But Elena, he has locked himself up in his room for three weeks now and doing nothing but condescending himself and trying to walk!  He's gone insane!"  She was about to counter his argument, when Yuffie came rushing down the stairs with a huge grin on her face.

"Announcing, his majesty, the prince!" she yelled zealously and went off to the side to let him come down… on two legs?…

"Your… your majesty!" Elena gasped in shock.  

"Yes?' he answered amused, raising his right brow just a tad as he looked to her.  His lips curled into a small smile.

"You're… you're… you're walking!" Reno gasped.  The prince's smile only grew, and he nodded.  A couple of miffed laughs were heard coming from Reno and Elena as they continued to stare at the prince.  

"Yes, yes," he chuckled lightly.  "I am walking."  A tiny chipped cup hopped over to Reno's side.  The cup had a little innocent expression on his face, but… there was something about that little innocent face that didn't fit him.

"Yeah, man!  Yo, Prince Cloud of Nibelheim is back!!" the cup zealously replied in a gruff, deep, almost-in-a-growl, voice.  Yuffie laughed and swept over to them.

"You're right Barret!" she laughed joyfully.  

"Well, of course I'm right!!" the cup snapped, jumping up to glare momentarily eye-to-eye with the feather duster, who laugh it off.  Cloud smirked as the two continued to argue and watched all of them ran off into the hall, yelling and laughing.  

"Those guys…" he thought laughing lightly, "Maybe they're right… Maybe I'll be able to break this curse… All I need to do is…put one foot in front of the other until I walk out the door…and into the arms of whoever my angel is supposed to be."  He faintly smiled as he walked back to his room and fell asleep in his bed.  And for the first time since the curse was upon him, he slept peacefully.  


	4. Funny Girl That Belle

**Videl: Warrior Princess: **Hey guys!  ::smiles at audience::

**The Author: **::sits in audience and waves::  Hey Bonnie!

**Videl: WP: **::blinks in shock::  Aaron?

**The Author: **Hiya!

**Videl: WP: **What are you doing here?  ::walks to him, seeing him eat popcorn and drinking soda::  Aren't *you* supposed to be working on *your* fic, "Final Fantasy Soaps"?

**The Author: **I am!  Besides, I update more than *you*!

**Audience: **Oooooo!!!…

**Videl: WP: **::glares at audience::  SHUT UP OR I'LL TURN YOU INTO A HEAP OF ASH!!!

**Audience: **…  ::goes silent for fear of life::

**Videl: WP: **::smirks::  That's better.

**The Author: **Actually, I wanted to read the fic and make my now usual appearance in your author notes.  That reminds me, where's Gohan?  And why was he mad at me earlier?

**Videl: WP: **Oh don't worry.  Gohan is sometimes protective of me because I've been in a couple of sticky situations with guys before.  And Gohan won't be on for awhile.

**The Author: **Why not?

**Videl: WP: **He's busy studying for his finals.  ::cell phone rings::  Hold on a sec Aaron. ::answers phone::  Hello?

**Great Super Gohan: **::is on the other line::  Just like you should be Videl!  Especially your Algebra 2 one!  I don't want you failing that class!

**Videl: WP: **::gulps::  Uh… IloveyouverymuchGohan-kunandI'lltalktoyoulaterbye!!

**Great Super Gohan: **Videl!

**Videl: WP: **::hangs up, breathes a sigh of relief, then clears throat::  Well now…

**The Author: **Looks like he left his mark on this chapter anyway.

**Videl: WP: **::nods::  He sure did.

**Luke Skywalker: **::walks in::  Hello, may I speak to Videl?  I am Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.

**Videl: WP: **I…I'm Videl…  ::is in awe at Luke::

**Luke Skywalker: **Good.  ::waves hand in front of her::  You do not own SquareSoft.

**Videl: WP: **I do not own SquareSoft.

**Luke Skywalker: **You do not own Disney.

**Videl: WP: **I do not own Disney.**  
  
**

**Luke Skywalker: **You do not own Star Wars.

**Videl: WP: **I do not own Star Wars.

**Luke Skywalker: **::smiles::  Good.  The Force will be with you.  ::vanishes::

**Videl: WP: **::snaps out of daze::  Huh?  What happened?

**The Author: **Nothing…On with the fic!

Chapter Four: Funny Girl That "Belle" 

A young woman smiled up at the sky as she closed the door to her humble home and began to walk down the lane to the village square of Midgar, holding a basket of brightly colored flowers and a blue covered book.

"Little town, it's a quiet village," she sang softly.  "Everyday, like the one before."  She walked over the small stone bridge, entering the square.  "Little town, full of little people, waking up to say…"

"Bonjour!" a woman called.

"Bonjour!" a man yelled.

"Bonjour!" cried another random villager.

"Bonjour!"

"Bonjour!"

She shook her head slightly as she smiled and continued walking.  "There goes the baker with his tray like always.  The same old bread and rolls to sell," she sang as she saw the baker.  "Every morning's just the same, since the morning that we came to this poor provincial town."

"Good morning Aeris!" he replied cheerfully as he placed a tray of rolls on the counter.  She smiled and walked over to him.

"Morning Sir!" she answered in a kind voice.

"Where are you off to?" he asked, looking over his tray.  Aeris smiled and picked up the book in her basket to show him.

"To the library!  I've just finished a great story about a mermaid, a sea witch and-," she began, but he cut her off.

"Uh huh, that's nice," he said, not paying any attention to her.  He turned to the back of the shop with a scowl on his face.  "George!  The biscuits!  Hurry up!" 

Aeris only shrugged slightly, placed her book back, and walked off.

"Don't look, that girl is strange, no question," two women whispered to each other.  "Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?"

"Never a part of any crowd," another woman added.

"Because her head's always up in some cloud," a man joined in.  ((X:WP:  Hey that's funny! (in a sick kind of way…)  No pun was intended!))

"No denying she's a funny girl that Aeris," they all agreed.

Aeris kept walking until she came upon a young couple.  "Oh!  What pretty flowers!" the girl exclaimed.

"Would you like to buy one?  It's only one gil per flower," Aeris offered with a nice smile.

"I'll take five," the man replied and handed her the money.  Aeris smiled and let the girl pick out the flowers.

"Thank you very much!" Aeris chimed and resumed her walk to the library.  "There must be something more than this life!" she thought as she stepped in.

"Ah, Aeris!" Seto replied, looking up from his stack of books.

"Good morning!  Here's the book I borrowed!" she said, placing the book down on a shelf.  Seto stifled a laugh.

"Finished already?" he asked with a smiled.  She smiled back and walked to the bookshelf behind him.

"Oh, I couldn't put it down.  Do you have anything new?" she asked, looking at the books.

"No, not since yesterday I'm afraid," he answered as he put away the books.

"Oh, that's alright.  I'll borrow…"  She paused for a moment as her eyes scanned for a book, and then, she grabbed a familiar book with a faded red cover and pale gold trim and turned around to show him.  "This one!"

Seto took it and looked at it closely.  "That one?" he laughed.  "But you've read it three times!"  Aeris laughed and nodded.

"I know, but it's my favorite!  Far off places, magic spells, daring sword fights, a prince in disguise!" she explained, full of energy, as she twirled around on the last part.

He continued to laugh.  "If you really like it that much, it's yours," he chuckled.  Aeris gasped in shock.

"Are…are you sure?" she asked, and he nodded.

"You've been my best customer, and you're good company," he replied.

"But Mr. Seto," she began to protest as he handed her the book.

"I insist," he continued, and Aeris hugged him.

"Thank you!  Thank you very much!" she exclaimed and left.

Three men watched her as she left the library and snickered, "That there girl is so pediculiar.  I wonder if she's feeling well!"

"With a dreamy, far off look," a woman commented, watching as Aeris walked on, reading her new book.

"And her nose stuck in a book," two men sighed. 

"What a puzzle to the rest of us is Aeris!" a group said, shaking their heads.

Aeris sat down by the fountain, where a bunch of kids were there playing for recess, still reading.  "Oh, isn't this fantastic?" she asked to none in particular and lowered the book for a little girl to see a picture.  "Here's where she meets Prince Charming, but she doesn't find out it's him 'til chapter three!"  Then the schoolteacher came running to them, and the kids got up and ran off, laughing.

"Hey!  Hey, come back!" the teacher cried, chasing after them.  Aeris stifled a giggle from watching them and skipped a couple of pages and began reading chapter three.  Soon, she got to her feet and began walking around the square some more, hoping to sell more flowers.  However, she couldn't help but read a couple of pages every now and then.

"It's no wonder they say she's a beauty; her looks have got no parallel," a woman whispered to her husband as Aeris walked past them.

"But behind that fair and lovely face, I'm afraid she's out in space, very different from the rest of us," he responded.

"She's nothing like the rest of us!  Yes, very different from the rest of us is Aeris!" people in the square whispered to each other.

A young man with sunshine hair and azure eyes lifted up his shotgun and shot the head goose of a gaggle flying overhead.  The bird fell, and its dead body fell right in front of a short, fat man with black hair.  

"Wow!  That makes six today Rufus!  You're the best hunter in the world!" Hiegdarr exclaimed.

Rufus smirked.  "I know," he said smugly, walking to him as Hiegdarr put the bird in the bag with the others.

"No beast stands a chance against you and no girl for that matter!" he chuckled before he began his vexing, loud laugh.  Rufus scowled and punched him on the head.  "Ow…" he moaned, rubbing his head.

"I thought we agreed you weren't going to do that laugh anymore," Rufus grumbled.

"Right, sorry Rufus!"

"But you are right though, and I've got my eyes set on that one."  He pointed over to their left, and Hiegdarr gasped in shock when he saw Aeris selling another flower.

"What?!  The inventor's sister?!"  Rufus smiled and nodded.

"That's right!  She's the most beautiful girl in town!"

"Well, maybe but-"

"That makes her the best!"  He lifted him up with one arm, still holding his shot gun in his other hand, and looked him coldly in the eye.  "And don't I deserve the best?"  Hiegdarr gulped.

"But of course!  I-I mean you do but-"  Rufus dropped him.

"Right there the moment when I met her, saw her, I said she's gorgeous and I fell.  In this town there's only she who is as beautiful as me, so I'm making plans to woo and marry Aeris," he sang in his deep voice and chased after Aeris when he saw her walk on.

Aeris walked through the town, reading her book.  People were about in the square, yelling, buying, trading, selling, walking, talking, and living life with each other.  And in the midst of this mass, Rufus was trying to get through to Aeris.  Two women in skimpy-clad clothing sighed as he walked by.

"Look, there he goes!  Isn't he dreamy?  Rufus Shinra, oh he's so cute!  Be still, my heart!  I'm hardly breathing!  He's such a tall, light haired, handsome man!" they said lovingly.

"Let me through!" Rufus snapped, still trying to push through the crowd.  However, even though some people moved aside for him, he was still lagging behind.

"There must be more than this provincial life!" Aeris cried.

"Just watch, I'm going to make Aeris my wife!" Rufus declared, but no one paid him any mind.  

"Now that girl right there is strange, but special!  A most pediculiar mademoiselle!  It's a pity and a sin!  She doesn't quite fit in, but she really is a funny girl; but she really is a funny girl, that Aeris!" the whole town exclaimed.

Snapping out of her daze from reading her book, Aeris blinked and turned around.  However, all the townspeople were back going on with their lives, pretending that they had nothing to do with her at all.  She gave a simple shrug and turned back to her book and kept walking.  

"Morning there Aeris," Rufus replied smugly, standing in front of her.  Aeris nodded and kept reading.

"Good morning Rufus," she responded and walked by, on her way home.  However, Rufus took away her book, and she turned around and glared at him, obviously annoyed with him.  "Rufus, can I have my book back?"  He didn't answer her and thumbed through some pages.

"How can you read this?  There's hardly any pictures in here?" he asked.  Aeris folded her arms and smirked.

"Well, some people just use their imagination," she answered coolly.  He let out a "tsk" and dropped the book into a mud puddle.  "Oh no!"  

"Aeris, it's time you got your head out of those books and paid more attention to more vital, important things…like me," he replied as Aeris dropped to her knees and picked up her book and used the sleeve of her magenta jacket to get the mud off of it and ignored the two women standing behind him that were swooning over him.

"The whole town's talking about it.  It's not right for a woman to read so much.  Soon she starts getting ideas and thinking things and taking over jobs that are only meant for men, like public office!" he continued.  Aeris smirked and got up.

"Rufus, you are positively boorish," she said, placing her book back in her basket.  Rufus, who wasn't paying attention to anything she was saying, chuckled.

"Why thank you Aeris," he laughed.  Aeris blinked in shock; surely he knew that she just said that he was rude and uncivilized, right?  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and began to guide her back to the village.  "Why don't you say we go over to the tavern and look at my trophies, hm?"  Aeris slid out of his arm.

"Maybe some other time," she replied, trying to keep her cool and be polite.

The two women scoffed.  One of them had long, dark brown hair and a chest like Pamela Anderson; the other was a blond and had a chest only slightly smaller than the others.  "What's wrong with her?!  She's crazy!" the brunette hissed.

"He's gorgeous!" the blond sighed, and immediately, the brunette began swooning over Rufus again.

"Come on, it'll just be a few minutes," Rufus cooed.

"Rufus, I can't.  I got to go home to help my brother, bye!" she chimed and turned to leave.  Hiegdarr laughed as he stood next to Rufus.

"That crazy, old bat!  He needs all the help he can get!" Hiegdarr chuckled, and Rufus and him began to laugh.  Aeris turned on her heel and glared at them coldly.

"Don't talk about Vincent that way!" she snapped.  Rufus cleared his throat and stopped laughing.

"Yeah, don't talk about her brother that way you jerk!" he yelled at Hiegdarr, punching him on the head again.

Aeris clutched her basket close to her as she continued to glare at them.  "My brother isn't crazy; he's a genius!" she corrected them.

Suddenly, some weird sounds came from Aeris' basement, which could be heard clearly out in the village.  "DAMNIT!!!" a deep voice yelled, and a couple of shots from a revolver were heard.  Aeris looked back at her house and gasped in horror.

"Oh no!  Vincent!" she cried and ran back home, ignoring the laughter from the villagers.     


	5. Bat Boy's Toy

**Videl:Warrior Princess: **I LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Anyway, sorry about the delay in posting this, I had a bad case of writer's block. **The Author: **Which means that she was lazy and forgot to work on this. **Videl:Warrior Princess: **AARON!!!  **The Author: **::gulps::  You can't kill me!  Gohan wouldn't be happy with you! **Videl:Warrior Princess: **Gohan's in Germany for the summer so he could go to his great-uncle's funeral, so he can't stop me!  Haha!  ::powers up:: **The Author: **Uh oh… **Sanosuke: **::walks in:: Hey, which one of you is Videl? **Videl:Warrior Princess: **SANO!!! ::hugs Sano:: **Sanosuke:** Uhh…. Who are you? **The Author:** She's Videl; I'm her friend Aaron. **Sanosuke:** Right, well I'm supposed to give this to you Videl.  ::hands her a letter:: **Videl:Warrior Princess: **Hm…I wonder what this could be?  ::opens it and finds out it's from Gohan:: "Dearest Videl, I maybe in Germany, but I won't let you kill your friend Aaron.  I won't be happy with you if I come back, and he's dead.  I'll be seeing you soon.  Love, Gohan.  P.S. Hope you got my email a week ago, wishing you a happy birthday.  Aishiteru!"Aw!  But that's no fun! ::pouts:: 

**Sanosuke: **Oh yeah, he told me to also tell you to do the disclaimer, whatever the hell that is.  Now, will ya hurry up and do it already so I can go get paid??  He's supposed to pay me over a 100 yen for this!

**Videl:Warrior Princess:** ::sighs:: OK… I don't own FF7, I don't own Beauty and the Beast, and I don't own Rurouni Kenshin… But I can still glomp Sano, right?

**Sanosuke: **WTH?? (What the hell)

**The Author:** O.O  What???  But what about Gohan?

**Videl:Warrior Princess:** What?  I just said I wanted to glomp Sano, not date him.  There's a difference.  

**The Author:** ::drip:: Sure…go ahead…

**Videl:Warrior Princess:** YAY!  ::glomps Sano and smiles::

Chapter Five: Bat Boy's Toy 

"Vincent?!" Aeris called out as she threw opened the door to the basement at their house.  Smoke flew out, and Aeris waved it away from her as she walked in, not hearing any response from her brother.  The smoke filled up in her lungs, and she coughed a couple of times to clear them out.  "Vincent?" she tried again.

"Damn this junk…" he swore, and he shot at something again, and the cranking and grinding of metal stopped as well as the smoke forming.  He put the gun away in its holster and looked over at his sister, who stood a mere foot away from him, staring at him concerned.  "Hi Aeris, have a good trip to town today?"

She blinked in shock and nodded slowly.  "Are you ok?" she asked, walking over to him.  He nodded.  "What were you shooting at?"  He sighed.

"This," he answered, waving his hand over to what now looked like a heap of scrap metal.  She looked over at it, then returned her gaze to him, still confused.

"But I thought that was the new invention you were working on…"  He nodded.

"It was."

"Well, what's wrong?  You seemed so excited about it last night."  Vincent sighed heavily and turned to look at the pile of junk, a sad frown on his face.

"I was."

"What changed your mind?"  He shrugged, and Aeris frowned slightly; she never had liked it when he was really depressed like this.  "Maybe you just need to fix one little part?" she suggested, and he sighed heavily.

"Well…I guess…"  He walked over and examined it again, checking every inch of it.  Aeris sat on her stool about halfway across the room from him, watching him intently.  "Ha!  I can't believe I was that stupid!"

"Hm?"

"The sparkplug's wires got mixed up with the wires from the black switch!"  Aeris only smiled slightly and nodded, not having the slightest clue what her brother was talking about. ((X:WP: just like the author is doing right now =D))  Immediately, he started right back to work on his invention and waved one hand back to her.  "Hey Aeris, hand me that red wrench!"  Quietly with a smile, she got up and handed her brother the requested tool.  

"So, what happened at town today?" he asked, still working.

Aeris slightly shrugged and sat back down at her stool and held her basket on her lap and picked up her book.  "Well, I sold some flowers and got a new book," she answered, and he mumbled something along the lines of "that's good."  She bit her lip and looked down at him nervous.  "Vincent?… Do you think I'm…odd?…" she softly asked.  He looked up from his work, his face covered with oil, and looked at her with his left eyebrow cocked.

"My sister 'odd'?  Now, what idiot told you that?" he demanded before going back to work, thinking in the back of his head, "Cause if I ever find the bastard…I'm killing him…"  Aeris only shrugged and looked down with a small frown on her face.

"I don't know… It's just I feel like…like I don't belong here… I don't have any friends…nor anyone who's nice enough to consider…"

"What about Tifa and Scarlet and Rufus?  He seems pretty handsome too from what I hear," he commented, putting on the finishing touches on his "toy."  ((X:WP: Vincent doesn't go out much, mostly because he's just about always working on some invention.  FYI.))

"Oh he's handsome alright, and they're all rude, stuffy, and cocky, and…"  She paused for a moment to sigh heavily as she got up from her stool and walked over to him as he got up and dusted himself off.  "Vincent, I can't hang out with them."

"Don't worry," he said, flashing her a faint smile.  "This invention will work…unlike the others, and we'll finally be able to leave this place, ok?"  She smiled and nodded at him at the prospect of leaving this hell of a town.  "Now…let's see if I worked out all those kinks yet…" he mumbled as he looked for the switch and pressed it and stepped back to her side to look at it work.  

The wheels grind, sparks shot off, and the whole thing began shaking and making small BOOM noises, but it did work.  The saw lifted itself up and chopped the wood.

"It's works!!!" Aeris squealed for joy, hugging her brother, who was looking at it in a daze.

"Yeah, it actually does…"

That night, after dinner, Vincent got the machine loaded up on the cart and took off with his red horse, which was called Red 13.  ((X:WP: Gomen Red 13!  But I didn't know where else to put you!))

"Aeris, now you take care while I'm gone.  I don't want any strange visitors coming here, understand?"  She nodded.  "Good.  Well, I'll be going now.  Goodbye sister."  They shared a brief hug.

"Goodbye brother, keep safe."  She walked outside with him and waved him goodbye as he started off for the invention fair.   


	6. There's No Rest for the Wicked

**Videl: Warrior Princess:** Yay!  I finally updated!  ::is floating in the air::

**The Author:** About time!  ::whacks V:WP with a notebook::

**Videl: WP:** Ack!  ::falls to the ground::

**Great Super Gohan:** ::catches V:WP before she hits the ground::

**Videl: WP:** ::looks up in shock::  Gohan?!

**Great Super Gohan:** Thank goodness I came just in time.  ::puts Videl down and glares at The Author::  How dare you do that to Videl??  You'll pay for this!!

**The Author: **o.O  What the?…

**Great Super Gohan:** ::flies up to The Author and beats the s^*& out of him and knocks him to the ground::

**Videl: WP:** ::looks up, smiles, and waves::  Thanks Gohan!

**Great Super Gohan:** ::smiles, nods, and waves back before flying off::

**The Author:** ::twitches on the ground in pain::

**Videl: WP:** Aw, I GUESS I should heal you…otherwise Mommy (Aeris) won't be happy with me.  ::walks over to the Author::  Cure 2!  ::casts Cure 2 on The Author::

**The Author:** ::jumps up::  Jeez, what was that for??

**Videl: WP:** Heh, Gohan-kun is VERY protective of me… Gomen Aaron.

**The Author:** Remind me just not to hurt you ever again Bonnie…it's not good for my health…

**Videl: WP:** Lol.  True.  Now, Aaron?

**The Author:** Yeah?  
  


**Videl: WP:** Do the disclaimer.

**The Author:** Why?  
  


**Videl: WP:** Because if you don't…I'll get Gohan-kun to kick your a$$.

**The Author:** ::gulps::  She doesn't own Beauty and the Beast or FF7.

**Videl: WP:** ^.^V  I'm great!  Now review please!  (Also, I don't own DBZ: Budokai 2, which I got the whole Gohan/Videl thing from.)

Chapter Six: There's No Rest for the Wicked 

Cloud paced around his room, growling, his mind reeling.  Fourteen…fourteen years!  It had been fourteen years since Sephiroth had cursed him, and still he had not found someone to love.  It seemed hopeless; no one could love such a hideous beast as him.  He was doomed to be this demon forever…

He had approached three women already; all of them found his repulsive beyond measure and refused to talk to him.  He gave up.  Why bother?  He had once tried to enter a village of his old kingdom, and the people either ran away horrified by his appearance or laughed at him hysterically.  Why did everyone judge him before they got a chance to know him??

Suddenly, his sensitive ears heard something.  Someone had opened the front door.  He growled, wondering who would disobey his direct order of to NEVER let anyone enter the castle.  His icy eyes seemed to glare pure coldness and death as he walked out of his room and went off to see what was causing the disturbance.

~/~/~/~/~

Vincent had kept Red 13 going at a good pace.  At this rate, they were going to reach the appointed destination by nightfall.  He stopped at a fork in the road.  "I don't remember this…" he thought.  He hopped off the cart and tried to read the signs, but the wood itself was rotting away so it was impossible to read the print.  He mentally sighed and rolled his eyes; this was just his luck.

"Now what?…" he muttered, pulling on Red 13's reins slightly as he decided to go left.  However, Red 13 shook his head and turned to the right.  "…We're not going right.  The right path doesn't look like it's been walked upon."  And it surely didn't.  Unlike the road to the left though, the right one seemed to lead to a sunny, open field; the left looked like it had be threaded upon many times but also resembled a cemetery.  Red 13 grunted in one futile attempt to change Vincent's mind but obeyed and went left as well.  

Soon, they arrived in front of a tall, dark, and large castle.  The place reeked of evil and of other bad omens.  The castle spooked Red 13 so bad, he reared up, knocking Vincent off, and galloped away back home.  Vincent stood up and glared at Red 13.  

"Get back here!!" he snapped and took out his pistol and fired a couple of shots into the ground next to him, hoping to stop him but to no avail.  He sighed heavily and looked back to the castle.  Sure it was dark and gloomy, but somehow, it almost felt comforting to Vincent.  Seeing that it was night and he had no transportation, he walked in through the squeaky gate and into the castle.

He looked around but found no one.  The place looked deserted.  "Is anyone here?" he asked loudly, his voice echoing.  

On a nearby table, a little clock and a candlestick watched with interest.  "No a word Reno!  Not a single damn word!" Elena hissed.

"He's obviously cold and lost!  Have some sympathy Elena!" Reno whispered back.  He then looked to Vincent.  "Yo!  You can crash here!"

Vincent spun around.  "Who said that?…" he asked, his eyes scanning the room.  He quickly picked up the lit candlestick, using it to help his vision.

"Over here Bat Boy!" Reno called, and Vincent turned to the other side.

"What the-?"

Reno tapped his shoulder with one of his handles, and Vincent looked over at him.  "About time!" Reno snapped, and in shock, Vincent dropped him.

"What the hell?…" he asked.

"Damn, what the hell was that for?…" Reno grumbled as he rubbed his head and stood up.  "You offer a guy to stay, and he drops you."

"Well, I hope you're happy now Reno!" Elena snapped as she jumped down and hopped over to him.  "Now, the master is going to get mad!"

Vincent blinked in surprise.  He had to be dreaming…he had to be dreaming.  There was no way candlesticks and clocks could move and talk.  Suddenly, Reno jumped up and grabbed his hand.

"Jeez, you're cold enough to be dead!" he replied, dragging him into a room in front of the fire.  

"He will be when the master gets a hold of him…" Elena grumbled as she followed.  

Vincent was seated in a chair with a blanket thrown over his shoulders.  However, Vincent handed it back to the coat hanger, whose name was Rude he was sure he heard.  A teapot came by on a cart.

"Hey, the name's Cid.  Here, have a spot of tea to warm ya up," he replied as he poured the tea into the cup.  Vincent warily picked it up and sipped it.  His eyes widen in shock as he looked back to Cid.

"This isn't tea…this is whiskey!" he declared. 

"Tea, whiskey, same difference," Cid only commented.

However, before this "cheerful" conversation could carry any further, the doors blew open and in walked in…

"Your majesty!" Elena gasped in shock.

"Oh shit," Cid muttered under his breath and hopped away.

Cloud glared.  "You let someone in here?…" he growled.

"Let me explain," Reno began but was cut off when Cloud roared in his face, blowing out his candles.  "Or not…"

Vincent's eyes raised up in shock when he saw Cloud's beastly form.  "My demons… My demons have come to haunt me…" he muttered.  Cloud, his mind already clouded ((X:WP: haha!  I made another funny! ^^)) with fury, misinterpreted what he said.

"A demon am I??" he demanded, his loud voice booming.  "I'll show YOU who's a demon!!"  Vincent calmly whipped out his pistol again, prepared to defend himself, but before he had a chance to fire his gun, Cloud swiped it out of his hand and grabbed Vincent by the throat with a tight grip.  Without another word, he dragged him off to the dungeon.


	7. Sibling Love

**Videl: Warrior Princess: **Hey!  I'm finally back!  Well, I decided I needed to do a chapter explaining Vincent and Aeris' life, and I figured this would be a good spot to do it.  So, here it is!  Chapter 8! 

**The Author: **About time!  It took you forever and a day to write this!

**Videl: WP: **XP  And this coming from the person whose fic was taken down and he's *yet* to repost it????

**The Author:** Well….

**Videl: WP:** ::whacks him in the head with Mastermune from Chrono Cross::  Baka!  Repost it already!

**Serge:** Nooo!  Not my Mastermune!  Give it back!!

**Kid:** Oi.  You damn bugger!  Give me mate Serge's swallow back!

**Videl: WP:** o.o  Kid and Serge… ::is in awe::

**The Author:** ::rubbing head:: Ow, please do…

**Videl: WP:** Sure!  If you two kiss each other!

**Serge/Kid:** o.o  What??  ::blush::

**Videl: WP:** C'mon….

**Serge:** Okay.  ::pulls Kid, dips her, and kisses her::

**Kid:** O.O  ::blush and kiss back::

**Videl: WP:** ::squeals with joy::  Yay!  ::gives Serge back his Mastermune::

**Serge:** Thanks.  

**Kid:** Oi!  C'mon mate!  We gotta go!  I'm going to kick Lynx's sorry arse so hard, he'll kiss the moons!

**Serge:** ::nods and they leave::

**The Author:** That was odd… ::looks to Videl: WP::  Well?

**Videl: WP:** Huh?  Oh yeah!  I don't own FF7, Beauty and the Beast, or Chrono Cross.

Chapter Seven: Sibling Love 

Aeris was calmly sitting on the floor in the living room of her house, reading her book with a content smile on her face.  Sure, she could have sat in a chair, but the carpet was just as, if not more, comfortable as a chair she thought.  She had just come back from checking on her flowers, and they were all blooming beautifully.  Hopefully, she would be able to sell more and help Vincent with the house.  A soft sigh escaped her lips as she thought how their life came to be this way.

Vincent was her older brother by five years, and when he was seventeen, her having just turned twelve, their parents died from a terrible illness.  It was a miracle Vincent and her weren't afflicted with the disease as well.  Since they had no living relatives, the villagers wanted to take them into new homes to raise them, but the two vehemently refused.  "We're going to stick together, no matter what," he had said.  So, they backed off, which suited Aeris and Vincent just fine.      

Since Vincent was good with machines, he worked as a handyman, fixing every appliance and machine in the entire village of Midgar almost.  He also worked with Aeris with schooling, for they didn't have enough money to enroll Aeris into a real school.  It was then that Aeris discovered her love for reading and also for nature.  Vincent had read a story about a magical faerie forest to her, and she loved the story so much, she wanted to create her own "faerie forest" with all kinds of flowers.  Ever since then, she was addicted to it.  

Everything was going well for the two, and some even happier news had blossomed: Vincent fell in love.  Her name was Lucerica, and she was a beautiful woman with a love for science.  She was a quiet, kind, proper young woman, who came from a proud and strict family, but she didn't let that stop her from seeing Vincent.  Aeris hadn't seen Vincent that happy since their parents were alive.  They even were engaged and were going to be married that coming spring.  Until one day…

Lucerica was working in the lab with Vincent, trying to configure the properties of a new solution she had created while Vincent was putting the final touches on a new machine.  Now the lab was a decent size and held the typical things you'd find at a laboratory, with a large lab table in the middle of the room, so long that it almost split the room in two.  Lucerica sat on the far side from the door, since it had a window on that side and she was always working with chemicals.  Vincent, usually having to go in and out for supplies and to check on Aeris often, took the side closest to the door.  She had asked him to hand her a beaker filled with a clear liquid, and Vincent only had smiled at her, not realizing his hands were covered with oil already.  He picked it up, but it slipped through his fingers, and the beaker smashed against the Bunsen burner, the liquid going everywhere.  Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem, but the liquid was flammable.  It caught on fire from the flame of the Bunsen burner; then it got her notes, her books, and finally the table on fire.  The fire kept growing and within a few seconds, she was surrounded.  Vincent desperately tried to save her, but nothing worked.  He would have stayed and burned to death as well, if it wasn't for a worker from inside the mansion Lucerica lived in coming in and pulling him out.  

Aeris shuddered as she remembered what happened when she found out.  She was just fourteen, having her birthday a little over a month ago, and was quite looking forward to Lucerica and Vincent's marriage.  She had finished making some blueberry muffins and decided to take them over for the two, and after putting them in her basket, she started off walking to the mansion.  It was then she saw the smoke.  Immediately, she thought of the two, dropped her basket, and broke out into a dead run to there.  A group of people had gathered around the house, observing the damage, and Aeris struggled to get through.

"Let me through!  My big brother's there!  I got to see if he's hurt!  Let me through!  VINCENT!!!  VINCENT!!!" she screamed, still wiggling her way through the mass of people.  Hearing the villagers murmur about someone's death and receiving no response from Vincent, her heart began to pound wildly with fear, and she began to kick and hit her way through.  Finally, she made it, but saw something she didn't expect to see.

Vincent sat on the ground, crying, holding a brunt body in his arms, cradling closely and rocking back and forth, as though the person was not really dead but just asleep.  He didn't even seem to notice all the people standing around, not even his own sister.  Aeris, puzzled, took a step closer to him, whispering his name, and her eyes widen in shock as she finally discovered whose brunt corpse Vincent was holding: Lucerica.  

"Oh my!…" she gasped, walking closer still.  "Oh no…Vincent…"  He finally looked up and behind to his sister, his eyes still filled with tears, and she could feel hers fill with tears as well.  

"A…Aeris, she's…" he whispered, his deep voice quivering, then he looked down at Lucerica again, crying still.  "Lucerica!  Oh, my beautiful Lucerica!…" he wailed, burying his head into her stiff neck, her body growing cold to the touch despite her fiery death. 

She began to cry too, and she knelt beside him and gently touched his shoulders, trying her best to conjure up a small smile for her brother.  "I-It's okay Vincent… It-It'll be okay… We'll make it through…" she managed to whisper to him, her shock and sadness almost choking her.  With Lucerica's body laying on his lap, he slightly leaned into her, too heartbroken to talk, but no words were needed, and Aeris hugged her brother tightly, as if her embrace could protect him from his pain.  And there the two siblings held each other, still weeping, not say a word, both suffering and finding the only solace in each other's arms and their love. 

A loud knocking at the door snapped Aeris out of her daze.  She dog-eared the page she was on, closed the book, placed it on the table, and walked to the door.  "Who could be coming here?" she thought as she reached for the door.

**Videl: Warrior Princess:** BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!  Yes, I'm going to make you wait to find out who is the mysterious visitor until the next chapter!  ::evil laughter::  Who can it be?… (If you saw the movie, you SHOULD know who it is…)  


	8. I Do Not!

**Videl Warrior Princess:** Hey guys!  Did ya miss me? 

**Audience:** …  ::crickets chirp::

**Videl WP:** ::cries::  I'm abused!

**The-Author2:** ::pats her shoulder::  Don't worry.  They do that to me, too.

**Videl WP:** ::sniffles::  Well, at least you and Dan like this fic.

**The-Author2:** Dan?

**Great Super Gohan:** Yeah, who's Dan?

**Videl WP:** Oh!  He's my friend that lives in PA!  He's pretty cool!  In fact, Dan, why don't you come down!

**Chibodee Crocket:** ::walks down, smiling and waving to the audience::

**Audience:** ::starts clapping and cheering wildly and loudly::

**Videl WP:** ::gapes in shock, cries for a second, then glares madly at the Audience::  FINE!!!  Would you all prefer if I killed myself?!?!?!?!

**Great Super Gohan, The-Author2, and Chibodee Crocket:** O.O;;;  NOOOO!!!!!!!

**Videl WP:** Wow…somebody loves me.  ::laughs, finally feeling better::

**The-Author2:** So, who's going to be the special guest for today?

**Videl WP:** Heh, well, I'm kinda short on cash, so…there's not going to be one… .;;

**The-Author2:** ::face fault::

**Videl WP:** Heh…Oh well…

**Chibodee Crocket:** Doesn't someone need to do the Disclaimer?

**Videl WP: **::smiles and pats Chibodee's back::  Glad you volunteered Dan! 

**Chibodee Crocket:** Huh?  Now, wait!  I-- ::stops as he sees he's the only one in the room now and sighs heavily::  Man, I can't even get a break in THIS fic!… Oh well, she doesn't own FF7, and she doesn't own Beauty and the Beast.  What do you people expect?

Chapter Eight: I Do…Not 

Rufus stood outside the door with a huge grin on his face and ran a hand through his blond hair.  "I'd like to thank you all for coming to my wedding," he proudly announced.  The audience looked at him intensely.  Practically the whole village had shown up.  "First, I'd better go in and propose to the bride," he joked, and several of the men laughed.  They all knew that he was the most handsome man in the village and an excellent fighter; every woman wanted him.  Scarlet began to weep loudly though, still clad in her skimpy red dress, upset that she wasn't the one Rufus had to "propose" to.

"Hiegdarr!" Rufus snapped, and the fat man turned to him.  "Now, when Aeris and I walk out that door-"

"I know!  I strike out the band!" he interrupted, and with that said, he waved his arms out, and the brass band began to play an almost military march-like version of the wedding march.  Annoyed, Rufus pounded him on the head.

"Not yet, you idiot!" he hissed.

"Sorry, sir!" Hiegdarr apologized, rubbing his head as Rufus left to walk to the front door.  "Damn jackass…" he grumbled incoherently so the blond-haired politician couldn't hear.

Hearing the door knock, Aeris got up and looked through the peephole to see Rufus standing there, smiling widely and proudly.  Aeris wrinkled her nose in disgust.  "Oh, why does it have to be HIM?…" she groaned mentally.  She supposed she had to let him in, though she was tempted not to, because it would be rude to leave him outside.  With a heavy sigh, she opened the door to let him in.  "Rufus, what a surprise!" she stated truthfully, a fake smile on her face.

"Aeris, today is the day your dreams come true!" he exclaimed, walking in.  Aeris shut the door and looked to him questionably, raising a brow.

"And what do you know of my dreams, Rufus?" she dryly asked. 

"Everything!" he boasted and plopped back into the recliner that was normally designated as Vincent's chair and plopped his muddy, boot-covered feet upon Aeris' book.  Aeris thought about lecturing him for both items, but decided against it, not wanting to talk or associate with him anymore than what she had to. 

"Imagine this.  I come back home from taking over yet ANOTHER major company, relax in my chair…" he began, patting the armrests of the recliner while Aeris grabbed her book from under him and grabbed a washcloth from the nightstand to wipe the mud off.  Rufus looked over at Aeris, a small smirk still upon his lips.  "My little wife is cooking dinner while the whelps are playing with the dogs, which would all be pure gray hounds," he continued and stood up to stand right in front of her, still smirking.  "We'll have seven."

Aeris' eyes grew wide, seeing how he was in her face, and she smiled nervously, having an inkling about what he was explaining.  "That'll be nice," she said, her cheerful voice having a nervous edge to it.  "Dogs are so cute…I wouldn't mind having them around the house."  Rufus merely laughed.

"No, not dogs, Aeris.  Handsome, intelligent boys, like me," he chuckled, running a hand through his hair.  Her fake cheerful, almost scared grin grew.

"Heh, that'll be nice…" she lied and turned to go put her book away on the bookshelf. 

"Do you know who that 'little wife' is?" he asked, following her.

"Eh, let me think…" she said, placing her book up.

"YOU, Aeris," he answered for her, pushing her back against the bookshelf.  Her green eyes grew wide in shock, and she slowly began walking towards the door.

"R-Rufus…I…I don't know what to say…" she replied, not knowing what else she could say.

"Say yes," he cooed in his deep voice, leaning towards her, and Aeris leaned back against the door, trying to get far away from him as she could.  Rufus closed his eyes, moving in for a kiss.

"I'm sorry Rufus!" she chimed.  "But…"  Her hand clasped the door handle.  "But my answer is no!" she quickly finished as she threw the door open and darted out of the way as Rufus fell out of her house and landed face first in a mud puddle.

Having heard the door open and thinking the "couple" was on their way out, Hiegdarr started up the band, which began to play the wedding march.  With Rufus now out of her house, Aeris shut the door and locked it.  It was then that the townspeople looked over and saw Rufus in the mud and began laughing as the band stopped playing.  As funny as the sight was though, they all left rather quickly, knowing how the young almost-groom was short-tempered.  Chuckling under his breath, Hiegdarr walked over and looked down at him.  "So," he began, pausing for a moment to laugh.  "How did it go?"  Rufus looked up and growled at him before jumping to his feet and lifting up Hiegdarr until he was eye-level with him.

"I'll make her my wife, damnit, no matter what!" he hissed and threw Hiegdarr down to the ground before storming off.  Hiegdarr sat on the ground and wiped the mud from his face.

"Damn, stuck-up jerk…" he grumbled and got up and followed after Rufus.

A minute later, Aeris opened the door and sighed in relief to find the front lawn empty.  "Good…" she whispered, "He's gone."  She stepped outside and went to her flower garden and began to pull out weeds.  "I can't believe the nerve of that man!" she ranted aloud as she pulled the strong, green weeds from in-between her flowers.  "ME!  Me, Aeris Gainesbrough Valentine, married to that brainless, cocky, snotty…OHH!" she fumed and got up, stomping her foot into the ground. 

She was so mad, she wanted to scream out at the top of her lungs.  Deciding that she needed to a nice place to think, she walked to the field behind her house and laid down, frowning slightly as she looked up at the sky.  She wanted a life of adventure, a comfortable life where her and her brother could live peacefully… And she wanted to find someone to talk to, someone to understand her…

A loud neigh cut her thoughts short, and she sat up, looking behind her to see Red 13 galloping towards her.  Aeris' eyes shot up when she didn't see Vincent with him, and she jumped to her feet, gently grabbing his reins when he came beside her.  "Red 13!  Where's Vincent?!" she demanded.  He neighed again, shaking his head, making her even more nervous and she quickly mounted him.  "C'mon, boy!  You got to take me to him!" she pleaded, and Red 13 took off.


	9. A Life for a Life

**A/N: **Hi again! How's everyone?

**Audience:** ::silence, sleeping::

**Videl: Warrior Princess:** Oi. .

**The-Author2:** ::pats her shoulder:: Get used to it.

**Videl: WP:** Yeah. Anyway, I know I said I might get this finished before summer ended, well… Heh, what can I say? Stuff happens, like AP English.

**Chibodee Crocket: **Yeah, too bad it didn't help your grades in there! ::Laughs::

**Videl: WP:** Grrr…Shut up. Now, who's our guest today?

**Chibodee Crocket: **Uhhh…

**Videl: WP:** o.O Aaron?

**The-Author2:** Well… ::hides behind Chibodee:: We don't have any for this chapter.

**Videl: WP:** WHAT????

**Chibodee Crocket:** Well, we had to pay the previous guests for their visits, and well…

**The-Author2:** We ran out of money.

**Videl: WP:** But…But…But now what will we do?!

**Chibodee Crocket:** The disclaimer maybe?

**Videl: WP:** I guess…. ::sighs, then looks to Aaron:: Hey! You haven't updated yet! ::points::

**The-Author2:** Oh good grief! . Just do the damn disclaimer and leave me alone about that!

**Videl: WP:** Fine. Hey everyone, I don't own FF7 or Beauty and the Beast! Now, go read Aaron's fic "Final Fantasy Soaps" on bug him to update! Maybe he will!

**Chapter Nine: A Life for a Life**

Red 13 cautiously approached the castle, and Aeris gasped in shock as she looked up at the gloomy palace. "What is this place?…" she whispered softly, and Red 13 whined softly, trying to tell her to pull back. However, Aeris kept him on the path and got off to push open the gate. She looked back at Red 13. "Say here, I'll be back soon," she whispered and gently patted his head before walking into the courtyard.

Aeris walked into the castle, her green eyes watching the place with a strange sort of awe and fear. "H-Hello?" she asked loudly, her voice echoing in the seemingly endless, vacant hall. "Can anyone hear me?…"

She found a winding staircase off to her left, and something deep down inside of her said to go that way. Deciding to follow her instinct, she carefully walked up the stone steps, her boots making a soft tapping sound as they came into contact with each step. Finally, she came to the end of the stairs and walked into the dark room. It was dimly lit; she could hardly see her hand in front of her face, and it smelled like a wet dog. Her nose wrinkled in disgust as she carefully took another step in. It was silent, so quiet that Aeris' heartbeat sounded like a drum in her ears as she looked around. Besides the couple of lanterns that hung lit from the ceilings, the only other source of light in there came from a hole in the ceiling, which had the ghastly glow of the moon shone down. As she walked closer to the spiral of light, she could see that this place was a prison.

"Vincent?" she called, looking around.

His head snapped up, hearing her voice, and he looked out to the door outside his prison. "Aeris!" he answered her, reaching out his hand through the bars of the door, since he was unable to break free.

Seeing his hand, she gasped and ran to him. She knelt down on the cold floor and grabbed hold of his hand. His hand squeezed hers gently. "Oh, Vincent!" she exclaimed in relief. "I finally found you!"

"Aeris, listen to me-"

"What happened, Vincent?"

"You've got to leave! Now!"

"But I can't leave without you!"

"Aeris, now!"

"Vincent, I won't abandon-"

"What are you doing here?!" a deep voice demanded. Aeris gasped in shock and spun around, her eyes darting around the room, but not seeing anyone.

"Damnit, Aeris, run!" Vincent pleaded, yet Aeris stayed where she was, leaning against the barred door of Vincent's cell.

"Who are you?" Aeris asked.

"The master of this castle…" the voice growled. She stood up, almost glaring to the direction the voice seemed to be coming from.

"Why are you holding Vincent here?" she inquired, her anger evident in her voice.

"He trespassed… He's now my prisoner," the voice calmly answered.

"But he didn't mean anything by it! Let him go!" she implored.

"He shouldn't have come to the darkness then!" the voice snapped.

"There has to be SOMETHING I can do…" Aeris thought, looking down for a moment, and an idea struck her, and she returned her gaze to the darkness. "Here! I'll take his place!" she offered.

"What?!" both Vincent and the voice demanded.

"If you'll let him go…I'll stay here," she repeated.

"Aeris, no!" Vincent yelled, but neither Aeris or the voice paid him any mind.

Cloud looked at her, gazing deep into her green depths. They the most enchanting shade of green he had ever seen, not even emeralds could compare with their beauty. Then again, she was a beauty herself with her long chestnut brown hair, smooth ivory skin, and trim figure. He couldn't help but feel spellbound by her somehow; there was something mystic about her.

"Do we have a deal?" Aeris asked, getting nervous from the silence.

"…Do you promise to stay here, forever?" Cloud questioned.

"Could I see you?" Aeris replied gently. Slowly Cloud stepped into the pillar of light, and Aeris' eyes went up in shock as she gaped at his haggard appearance. However, she didn't say a word and stepped forward, looking up at him timidly. "I promise," she vowed. Without saying a word, Cloud went to Vincent's cell and unlocked it. Immediately, he ran to his sister and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Aeris! Think what you're doing! I can't let-" He was cut off short, when Cloud began to lead him away. "Damnit, let go!" Vincent shouted, shrugging to get away.

"Vincent!" Aeris cried, running a couple of steps after them, her hand reached out to her brother, but once she saw that the beast wasn't going to release him, she clasped her hands together in front of her chest, her eyes almost filling with tears. "Vincent…" she whispered mournfully.

After Cloud threw Vincent outside the gates, he shut them and turned on his heel, walking off. Vincent leapt to his feet, shaking the bars on the gate in his fury. "Aeris!!" he yelled, his voice echoing in the night. Red 13 came up and nudged his shoulder blade. Vincent sighed heavily and glared at the castle. "I swear Aeris, I'll come back and get you…" he thought and climbed onto Red 13's back to go back to Midgar in order to get supplies.

Cloud was walking back up the stairs to the prison, and he came upon Reno. "So…is the girl staying?" the candlestick asked, but Cloud walked past him. Reno didn't give up. He merely followed him. "You know, you should offer her a room, maybe one from the East Wing?" Cloud turned and glared back at him for a moment before he went back to walking up the stairs. The candlestick shrugged. "I'm just sayin'. Babes like her like BEDROOMS, not PRISONS."

When Cloud came back to the prison, he found Aeris sitting on the ground, crying softly. She looked up at him, her stunning eyes filled to the brim with tears. "Why couldn't I say bye to him?" she asked. "I'll never see my brother again… I never got to say good-bye to him…" A pain tug at Cloud's heart when he saw her tears; he couldn't explain why, but he didn't want to see her in pain. He walked over to her and knelt down beside her but didn't touch her, knowing that she'd cringe and move away.

"Come on, I'll show you to your room," he said, his voice almost actually gentle. Startled, she looked up at him, her mouth open slightly in surprise.

"My room?" she asked, and he nodded. "But I thought I was your prisoner…" He shook his head.

"Now, come on. I promise I won't hurt you," he said again, unknowingly holding out his hand to her.

"Why is he being nice?" she thought as she looked into his deep blue eyes, and she looked down to see his hand. Suddenly, Cloud lowered his gaze to see what she was looking at, and seeing his hand, he began to pull it back when she gently placed her hand in his. It was his turn to be shock. He looked at her, his blue eyes puzzled, and she conjured up a small smile, trying to cheer both of them up. If she was going to have to stay here forever, she guessed she should try to be nice with him if he was willing to try the same. She almost blinked in surprise as he stared at her; if she didn't know better, she thought she saw a blush upon his furry cheeks, but that couldn't be, so she brushed it off.

"Alright…" she began slowly, "lead the way."


	10. A Dinner Date

**Videl**** Warrior Princess: **Hi everyone! How's it going? I bet you all thought I and/or this fic was dead…didn't you?

**The-Author 2: **Yeah, and I'm her friend A--… Hey, wait::looks around: Where's that Chibodee fellow?

**Videl**** Warrior Princess: **Oh him… :looks down: Well….we kinda broke up…

**The-Author 2: **O.O

**Audience: **Awww…We're sorry!

**Videl**** Warrior Princess::nods** sadly, then looks up: But enough of that. News for all of the readers out there; if you want to know how I'm going to update/work on my fics now, go here: http/ Well, why don't you guys help joining me welcoming our special guests Simon, Randy, and Paula, the judges from _American Idol_!

**Simon, Randy, and Paula::walk** onstage, while the audience applause wildly, and they sit in three seats behind a wide desk, looking over at V:WP and The-Author 2:

**Randy: **Yo, Dawg! I respect what you're tryin' to do, Dawg! It was a little rough in some spots, but you're pulling through!

**Paula: **I think this is the best Final Fantasy 7 fic ever! You've truly shown off your writing skills!

**Simon: **This is absolutely the worst thing I have ever read.

**Audience::laughs**: Lol. Haha!

**Videl**** Warrior Princess::sighs**: Can someone just do the disclaimer already?…

**Ryan Seacrest::bounces** onto the scene with microphone in hand: I can! Today's chapter of The Beauty that Tamed the Beast was brought to you by V:WP, but the characters and plot are owned by SquareEnix and Disney…and the special guests and myself belong on the show _American Idol_…whoever that is owned by.

**Videl**** Warrior Princess and The-Author 2: **O.o

Chapter Ten: A Dinner Date 

Cloud slowly led Aeris down the dark hallway, and Aeris kept close to him, despite all her wishes of wanting to turn and run away as far as she could. She had made a promise, and since he kept his word, she was going to keep hers. Her green eyes fearfully gazed upon the various ghoulish and ghastly carvings on the walls and the hideous statutes that lined the hall. It was dimly lit, and Aeris had a hard time adjusting to the dark for awhile. "I suppose I'll never see the sun or the flowers again," she thought sadly and looked down to the ground.

"Hey! Tell her something!" Reno hissed quietly to Cloud, and Cloud glanced back at her silently. Conversation was not his strong point.

"…Enjoy your stay here," he finally said, and Reno rolled his eyes and waved him on, seeing that Aeris didn't respond. "You can go anywhere here in the castle, it's your new home… Just stay out of the East Wing. You can't go there."

"Why not?" Aeris asked. Cloud turned back and glared at her.

"You just can't go there," he coldly answered, and he turned back and began walking again, not saying another word to her. Seeing no other choice, Aeris followed him, keeping silent with him. Finally, they reached her room, and he opened the door for her.

"Psst! Hey! Invite her to dinner! Make a dinner date with her!" Reno hissed, lightly whacking Cloud upside the head. The prince growled as he made a mental note to melt a certain candlestick in the furnace that night, and then looked to Aeris as she began to walk into her room.

"…I'll see you for dinner in two hours," Cloud stated, leaving no room for argument as he shut her door and left. Aeris froze in shock and turned around to protest, only to find the door in her face. She sighed heavily, walked over to her bed, sat down, and held her head in her hands.

Vincent's scowl and cold stare did not ease up as he shoved opened the doors to the tavern and stormed in, the icy wind howling through, the night sky as black as his hair as the snow began to fall. Everyone turned to look at him as he walked in; he didn't stop until he stood in the middle of the tavern and sure that he had everyone's attention.

"…I need your help!" Vincent announced loudly, and the news piqued people's interests. Vincent, the dire and somber man that always stood alone, needed their help? What could he possibly want their help with? "Aeris' been taken captive," he answered their silent questions. They stared at him in disbelief. "I speak the truth," he continued, "She is being held hostage in a castle."

This caught Rufus' attention. He scoffed as he leaned back in his big, comfy, red leather recliner. "Who, Vincent? Who's got Aeris locked up in a castle?" he asked, truly curious about the whereabouts of his "to-be-bride"; he had went over a couple of hours ago to demand her hand in marriage once more, only to find that she was not at home.

"A ruthless monster," he answered simply. Loud roars of laughter erupted throughout the tavern, but Vincent stood there with the same cold, stoic expression chiseled on his face.

"Was he covered in fur?" one villager taunted him.

"Yes," he responded in his deep voice, still showing no signs of emotion.

"Did he have sharp fangs and claws?" another mocked.

"…Yes." Again, no facial movements except from his lips to speak the words happened.

"How about piercing, evil eyes?" a third one joined in. Beginning to get annoyed, Vincent almost sighed.

"Yes…" he growled.

"Of course, I understand!" Rufus exclaimed, expecting to see some kind of reaction from Vincent, only to find none as the dark-haired man kept staring at him intently. However, Rufus wasn't about to let him be outmatched by some lower-classed dog (V: WP: Please understand that I love Vincent and think he's one of the best, and that this is just Rufus' thought on him.). "I'll even help you…" he said with a smirk and snapped his fingers. The three men that had jeered at him earlier began to walk towards him, but Vincent whipped out his revolver and glared at all of them.

"Stay back," Vincent ordered in a voice cold enough to cut the strongest sheet of steel, "or I will kill all of you…" Instantly, they backed off, and Vincent returned his glare to Rufus. "Fine. I will save my sister by myself." With that said, he turned quickly and walked out of the tavern, his red cloak blowing in the breeze behind him, and left the door open. One of the waitresses went over and closed and locked the door in order to keep out the cold and Vincent.

"That crazy old bat boy…" one person grumbled. "He needs to be put away."

An idea struck Rufus. "Crazy old bat boy, huh?…" he thought. He turned to Hiegdarr with a smirk. "Hiegdarr!"

"Yes sir!" the short fat man declared with fake zeal.

"I want you to make a call tomorrow…"

"Of course, sir."

"Good." Rufus sighed with boredom. He needed to find something to amuse himself with for awhile… His head turned to the side, and he found it. "Scarlet!" he barked, and the blond, that had been swooning over him earlier, eagerly looked at him and came to his side quickly. Her new red silk dress was so low-cut that her perky bosom was almost falling out of it, was almost completely back-less, and had slits on the sides that nearly came up to her hips.

"Yes, Rufus? What is it, darling?" she asked, kneeling down beside him. Rufus smirked down at her.

"Mind reminding me how great I am in my room?" he asked, his smirk growing.

"Of course not!" she answered and followed him quickly into one of the back rooms.

Aeris sat down on the bed, trying to come up with a solution, and finding none, she laid back on the bed, letting out a heavy sigh. "I'm trapped here," she thought.

"Hey! Open up!" a voice snapped, rapping on the door loudly, making Aeris snap out of her thoughts and jump in shock.

"Who is it?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. As brave as she had been earlier when she surrendered her freedom for her brother's life, she was shaken still from the situation.

"It's the damn room service!" the harsh voice snapped again. "Now, open up!"

Deciding it was better to obey than make the voice angry, she went to the door and opened it. She looked down and nearly jumped back when she saw a teapot, a small mug of cream, two cups, and a thing of sugar. "What is—" she began, but was cut-off.

"About damn time!" the teapot declared and hopped inside along with the other objects.

Aeris stared in shock and slowly shut the door. "What is all of this for?" she asked, turning to look at them.

"Well, I'd figured you'd probably like a cup of tea before dinner," the teapot replied. She smiled at him nervously, ready to decline when he spoke up again. "Don't worry. I promise unlike that time with your brother, this is really tea," he continued, going ahead and pouring a cup after his statement. Seeing no point in wasting tea, she sat down on the ground next to them and slowly took the teacup.

"Thank you," she replied with a small smile. "I'm sorry for being a little…"

"Nervous?" a feminine voice from behind asked.

Aeris jumped in shock, gasping and quickly turned around to see a large wardrobe looking at her with large, gentle eyes. The wardrobe laughed gently. "Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"I-It's okay," Aeris reassured her.

"My name is Tifa," the wardrobe introduced herself.

"Name's Cid," the teapot replied, nodding slightly.

"I am Shera," the creamer next to the teapot kindly said.

"Yo, I'm Barret!" the teacup on the floor declared, which made Aeris almost blink in shock, not expecting something that small to have such a deep, gruff voice.

"And I'm Marlene!" a young, high voice chimed, coming from the teacup she held in her hand.

Aeris smiled gently at all of them. "My name is Aeris. I'm pleased to meet you all, but umm…does EVERYTHING in this castle talk?" she asked, almost looking at them nervously. She didn't want to find herself getting eaten by the bed in the middle of the night!

Tifa laughed gently. "No, don't worry," she answered. "It's just our master and us that can."

The green-eyed woman nodded and let out a small, sheepish laugh. "Good. I mean, it's just…well, different. I've never been in a castle before…much less a ENCHANTED castle," she explained, smiling.

"Eh, you'll get used to it," Cid said casually, indirectly forcing Aeris' smile to grow slightly.

"Do you like it here, Aeris?" Marlene asked innocently, and Aeris almost felt too guilty to answer the truth, but she knew she couldn't lie to her.

"Well…not too much, Marlene," she began, frowning slightly as she watched the teacup's face almost look sad. "I just said good-bye to my home…my brother…my dreams."

"Hey, yo! Chin up! Dis here isn't the worst! Things are gonna go up!" Barret reassured her, and Aeris opened her mouth to respond to him, when Cid cleared his throat loudly.

"Come on! We got to get the hell out of here to get dinner started!" he harshly reminded the others.

"You're right, you foo'," Barret agreed, and Marlene hopped down from Aeris' hand, and the tea equipment left the room. As soon as they left, Tifa went over and shut the door and hobbled back over to Aeris, smiling.

"Now, let's fine you something to wear for dinner!" she chimed. "Not that you don't look beautiful already."

"But—" Aeris tried to begin, but Tifa kept on.

"Let's see what I got in here!" she continued and the doors opened, and she went shifting through the dressed. "You dress more conservatively, so let's find something along those lines…Aha!" She pulled out a ruby-red sleeveless silk dress that had ball gown skirt that came down to the floor. "You'll look great in this! Red would definitely look good on you."

Aeris smiled at her sadly. "But…I'm not going to dinner…" she argued gently.

Tifa blinked her rose-colored eyes in shock. "What? Why?" However, before Aeris could answer, a knock came at the door. The two looked at each other in shock, shrugging slightly.

"I wonder who could that be?" Aeris thought as she went over and opened the door and looked down to see Elena.

"His Highness awaits you to come down to dinner," Elena replied, relaying her orders.

Cloud sat at the table, drumming his claws upon the table in impatience. "Why is she late?…" he wondered aloud.

"Ah, you know these chicks…" Cid began. "They take forever and a day to get ready for ANYTHING!" The same sliver creamer from before sighed softly, standing next to him. "Eh, what was that, Shera!" he demanded, looking to her.

"Nothing, Cid, it's nothing," she softly answered.

"Cid's right!" Reno joined in with a slight yawn. "Any minute now, Elena's gonna walk in and introduce her." At that said moment, the door to the dining room opened, and Elena walked in.

"Good evening, sirs…" she replied with a small, nervous smile.

Cloud looked at her confused. "Well…where is she?…"

"Who?" Elena squeaked unintentionally.

"The girl, you damned clock!" Cid snapped before anyone else could reply.

"Cid, please…" Shera murmured, referring to his foul mouth. However, no one, including Elena, seemed to take notice of Cid's use of vulgar language.

"Oh! HER! Well…" she began before gulping. She looked at them worriedly. "She's not coming," she finished in a small voice.

Cloud's sapphire-blue eyes widen in shock before narrowing in anger. His pride was hurt as well as his feelings, and he just felt pissed. He hated to be made a fool…especially in his own home. The cursed prince got up and began marching over to her room before anyone could even utter a syllable. He stood outside her door, not banging, not grabbing at it, just glaring at it. "I thought you were coming to dinner!" he yelled.

"I never said I wanted to, nor that I was!" Aeris yelled back, through the door.

Cloud growled in frustration. "Aeris, come out here RIGHT now!" he bellowed.

"No!" she snapped just as loudly.

"Sir, perhaps if you said please," Elena suggested, and Cloud heaved a heavy sigh. It was worth a shot.

"…Will you please come join me for dinner?" he tried politely.

"No, thank you!" Aeris answered.

"Fine!" he shouted. "You can stay in there!" And with that said, he stomped off to his room.


	11. Be Our Guest

**Videl Warrior Princess: **Wow! God, it's been a long time since I've updated… 

**The Author-2:** No kid.

**Videl WP: **-glares- Oh shut up… :looks back to the audience: Oh yes! Aaron, tell them about your fic again!

**The Author-2: **I changed it. It's on Still Final Fantasy Soaps.

**Videl WP: **Now, go and read his fic! It's still funny!...

**Audience:** …

**The Author-2:** -sighs- No respect still…

**Videl WP:** Don't worry—I still get none. :clears throat: Anyways, welcome back again! I'm sorry it's been such a long absence! I'm now in college, so it's been a little bit harder to find the time to write fics, but…I'm doing better! I've got almost all of Chappie 12 planned out, and I shall be typing it up this weekend, since I don't have any tests next week!

**Ed the Alchemy Freak:** That's great, Videl WP.

**Audience:** o.O Who is this? -points to Ed-

**Videl WP:** Huh? Oh him? That's my boyfriend. Say hi, Ed!

**Ed the Alchemy Freak:** . You didn't tell them about me?...

**Videl WP:** Well, I haven't updated this thing since before we were going out. Now, come on! We've wasted enough time jabbin' already! Do the disclaimer so we can go, and I can get my Astronomy homework done!

**Ed the Alchemy Freak:** Why do _I_ have to do it?...

**Videl WP:** -holds up wrench-

**Ed the Alchemy Freak:** O.O Okay! Okay! No more wrenches! I need all the brain cells I have!... -sighs- She doesn't own Final Fantasy VII or Disney's Beauty and the Beast. There.

**The Author-2:** -shakes his head- You're pathetic.

**Videl WP:** Now, before a fight breaks out…on with the fic! Before I forget though, I will mention that I'm doing some minor editing to earlier chapters of BTTB, so don't panic if you re-read it and some things are different. Oh, and read Ghost in the Mirror's "Ocean of Love" fic! It's awesome! Way much cooler than mine!

**Song Inspiration for Chapter:** "Be Our Guest" by Howard Ashmanand Alan Menken

**Chapter Eleven: Be Our Guest**

It was only a little past ten-thirty at night, when Aeris quietly snuck out of her room. Her green eyes warily looked around, searching for any signs of the temperamental master of the castle, and to her relief, she found none and walked slowly down the stairs.

"Come on, Marlene! It's time for bed!" Barret declared, gently pushing his daughter into the cabinet with the other teacups.

"But I'm not sleepy Daddy!" she whined before yawning.

"Oh, yes you are!" he continued and finally got her in, before she yawned once more and shut her eyes, indeed falling asleep. Halfway tired himself, Barret hopped in too next to her, and Shera slowly closed the door.

"Damnit, I can't believe that girl!" Cid exclaimed loudly.

"Cid, she's been through a lot," Shera tried to explain, hoping to calm everyone else down as well.

"But she was being stubborn," Elena injected her opinion, wiping her "hands" on a small cloth before tossing it into one of the cupboards. "After all, the master did say please."

"But he did it all wrong!" Yuffie exclaimed, sweeping her way up next to the clock.

"She couldn't just still come though!" Reeve, the stove whined. "I made all this food, and she let it go to waste!"

"Stop whining, Reeve," a gargoyle sternly told him, stepping forth into the lit room.

"Tseng!" Elena gasped, while Reno just rolled his eyes.

The gargoyle pretended not to notice Elena's shock at his arrival and continued on. "Look, it's all been a stressful night on ourselves. It'd just be for the best if we all clean up and get some rest."

They were in silent but agreed and continued cleaning up.

Aeris wandered through the castle, trying to be quiet, which was getting harder to do with her stomach growling all the time.

'_Where is the kitchen?'_ she thought. _'It has to be here somewhere!...'_

The poor flower girl was about to give up her search and go back to her room, when a faint smell came to her nose. She couldn't name what it was, but all she knew was that it smelled good; she decided to follow it. Soon, she came upon a large wooden door, and she pushed it open to find—

"Hey look! It's the broad!" Cid announced, seeing the girl walk in.

She smiled sheepishly like a kid who had been caught stealing from the cookie jar and timidly took another step in. "Hello," she replied shyly, unsure of how they would react to her being in the kitchen. Would they torture her for disobeying their master? Aeris instantly shook the thought from her mind. They were a bunch of APPLICANCES, what could they do?

"Hello, Aeris," Shera greeted her, still slightly embarrassed by Cid's rather crude comment.

"What are you doing out!" Elena demanded, rushing over. "The master ordered you to stay in!"

"Aw, Elena, don't be such a stiff!" Reno exclaimed, waving one of his "hands" at her. He turned his gaze back to the brown-haired, green-eyed girl that was staying with them. "So, what's up?"

"Well…I got a little hungry, so…" Aeris began before being cut off by the candlestick.

"Yo! Ya here that? She's hungry!" Reno yelled.

"That's right, damnit!" Cid called. "Get off your lazy asses and start cookin'!"

Various remarks of excitement were heard throughout the kitchen, maybe now the dinner they all worked so hard on would not go to waste! This, in turn, woke up the teacups. "Aeris!" Marlene chimed happily upon seeing the flower girl.

"Looks like we're up," Barret replied, nudging the door open, with some help from Shera again.

"WHAT!" Elena shrieked. "You can't be serious!... This goes against EVERYTHING the master told us to do!...We can't let her eat!"

"Elena!" the gargoyle said sternly, and immediately, Elena stood at attention, silencing her rant about loyalty and such. "This girl is our guest staying here, there's no harm with fixing her a meal."

"Y-Yes, sir," the clock replied in agreement.

"Now, go and help the others with dinner," he ordered.

Elena nodded her head and scampered off to help Shera. The gargoyle turned to Aeris with an apologetic smile, crawled over to her.

"I must apologize for my associate's actions. Please forgive her. My name is Tseng, head of the household," he introduced, holding out a hand to her.

Thinking he wanted to shake hands, Aeris smiled brightly and bent down on her knees slightly so she could grasp his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Tseng," she replied, preparing to shake his hand, when he kissed the back of it lightly with his stone lips.

"The pleasure is all ours, Miss Aeris," he corrected her.

She hoped he was just doing that out politeness, especially with the glare she received from the clock. Aeris kept her small smile on her face and allowed Tseng and Reno to lead her into the large dining hall.

No sooner than when she was seated was she given the most spectacular meal and also the most entertaining one in her life as well. Reno did a stand-up routine or two, and surprising enough, Elena and Shera sang a song, and rest of the appliances broke out into a couple dances. As depressed as Aeris had been earlier over her new living arrangements, the dinner almost made up for all of it.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and Aeris soon found herself walking back up the stairs to her room, smiling and laughing softly as she talked with Elena and Reno. "I had a wonderful time! Thank you both!" she chimed at them as she stood outside her door.

"Yes, it was rather fun, wasn't it?" Elena asked, smiling faintly at her friend.

"Hell yeah!" Reno exclaimed loudly, making Aeris laugh and Elena roll her eyes as she gave him a mini-lecture about using one's indoor voice.

The three told each other goodnight, and Reno and Elena toddled off as Aeris went back into her new room. She stayed up a little longer, talking to Tifa, explaining to her what happened at dinner and that she did have a good time. It wasn't until Aeris had said goodnight to the dresser as well and was laying on the bed before her thoughts returned towards her brother. She felt guilty and tried to calm her thoughts so she could sleep.

'_Vincent…I hope you're alright… I miss you…'_ she thought sadly as she clutched her pillow, and soon the poor flower girl drifted asleep.

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**Videl WP:** Wow, I've written so many Author's Notes in this chapter… I'm sorry. But, I do have an important message: I do realize I sadly don't update my fics very frequently, no matter how much I would love to, and I know some of my readers out there don't have accounts on So, I've created an email account that shall serve as a mailing list for all of my readers. Just send an email to ephiny(underscore)jones(at)yahoo(dot)com,put a name for me to call you and which fic you're emailing me about. This way, whenever I update, I will send you an email stating that I have. Also, check out my bio page for more info. Thanks!


	12. What to Do

A/N: Hello again, everyone! I'm sorry about the long wait! 

**The Author 2:** Yeah! It's about time!

**VWP:** -glares at The Author- Oh, shut up! I've been very busy, you know!

**The Author 2:** With what?

**VWP:** There's college, my grandmother's death, and trying to get my wireless to work! Plus, I have been editing older chappies and thinking about what to do with the fic and have decided to go based more-so on the video game than the movie now.

**The Author 2:** Oh… Sorry about your grandmother.

**VWP:** That's okay; at least she's no longer in pain, and I know she's in a better place now. Thanks though. Anyways, as I was saying—

**Ed the Alchemy Freak: **Hey everyone!

**VWP:** ???? What are you doing here?

**Ed:** I'm your new assistant! I even hired the special guest for this chapter.

**VWP: **You did? -clasps hands together- Oh that's wonderful! I knew you were good for something besides kisses and borrowing video games!

**The Author 2:** AHEM!

**VWP:** Oh, right. Aaron, this is my boyfriend Jake. Jake, this is my friend, Aaron; he makes appearances in these little author's notes.

**The Author 2:** So, who's the special guest?

**Ed:** It's Crono from Chrono Trigger… Come on out, Crono!

**Crono:** -walks in-

**VWP:** -gasps- Oh gosh! It's so great to meet you! –shakes his hand- … Uh, why isn't he talking?

**Ed:** Well, he lost his voice.

**VWP:** What?! Well, that sucks! Some assistant you are! Just for that, you get to do the disclaimer! Come on, Crono, let's go make you better. –walks off with Crono and Aaron-

**Ed:** But, I… -sighs heavily- Okay, fine. She doesn't own _Beauty and the Beast_, FFVII, or Chrono Trigger… Hey! Wait for me! –runs after-

**Chapter Twelve: What to Do?**

****

Vincent sat at his desk, brooding as he tried to think of a way to save his sister from the beast. Though he was the smartest man in Midgar, he was having trouble concocting a plan. The castle was enchanted; no doubt it would have some sort of shield for protection.

'_How could this sort of magic exist?'_ he thought. Magic was ancient, believed to have vanished when the last of the pure-blooded Cetra, Sephiroth, had disappeared. Unless…

"Unless he's using materia!" Vincent whispered before running off to his library.

-( : )-

Aeris was finishing her bath (thank goodness the tub was not alive) when there was a knock at the door. "Who's there?" she asked.

"Elena… Are you dressed, miss?"

The flower girl scrambled out of the tub and hastily put on the green robe Tifa had pulled out for her that morning, almost knocking over bottles of herbs and shampoo in the process. Once she was covered, she cleared her throat and answered, "Yes."

Slowly the door opened, and it revealed the clock looking up at her. "His Majesty requests you join him for breakfast," Elena stated, hoping not to have a repeat of last night's events.

"Not an order?" Aeris asked, confused.

"No, though I hope you accept his offer," she replied and turned and left.

She closed the door and frowned slightly, looking down as she lightly fingered the collar of her robe. '_A request?... Should I accept it?'_ she thought, now looking off to the side. Aeris bit her bottom lip as she pondered about it some more before leaving the bathroom.

-( : )-

Rufus was reading the paper when Hiegdarr came running into his office. Without even looking up from his paper, he sighed heavily in annoyance. "You better have something that is worth wasting my time…" he warned.

"Oh, it is, sir," Hiegdarr began, before laughing obnoxiously. However, once he received the glare from Rufus, he quickly stopped, clearing his throat. "I have made contact with HIM, sir…"

Now, he put down the paper and looked to his minion with a smirk. "Really now?... That IS something… Good work, Hiegdarr," Rufus commented. "Now, when will he be here?"

"In three days, sir."

"Good, now go and leave me alone," Rufus replied, going back to his newspaper.

Hiegdarr grumbled under his breath before he got up and left the room.

-( : )-

Aeris was back in her room, brushing her hair, when she stopped and looked up at Tifa's reflection in the mirror. "Hey, Tifa?..." she asked.

"Yes, Aeris?"

"Do you have any dresses in there, that's…green maybe?"

A grin formed on Tifa's face. "I just might. Hold on a second…"

-( : )-

Vincent was in the middle of a sprawled pile of books. Intently, he was reading one book, his fingers tapping upon the thick leather cover of another book. His scarlet eyes scanned the words as his mouth barely whispered them.

When their parents had died, Vincent went on a mad search to find a way to resurrect them, researching all that he could about magic, but even then, he could not find anything useful. However, he still kept all of them, just in case he would ever need them at a later date.

…And thank God that he did.

Materia was made from a mystical source, known as Mako energy. To many, it was thought to be extinct, but really, it was still in abundance; one just needed to know where to look.

About four hours away from town, there was an old mine town called Corel. In one of the many caves in the mines, there was a "spring" of crystallized Mako. If Vincent could get a hold of some and expose it to a certain amount of chemicals, he should be able to create some materia, one that should be able to break down the defenses of the castle.

He closed the book after reading the formula and began gathering up materials for his journey, when Vincent noticed a book that did not look familiar. Normally, he just would have thought that it was one of Aerith's that she accidentally put in his room, but it was the author's name that made him stop: Lucerica. His scarlet eyes widened in surprised as he grabbed it and carefully flipped back the thin, red leather cover; he scanned over the first page before frowning in confusion.

"…'The Chaos Theory'?..." he mumbled, staring at it intently for a moment. Finally, he closed it and went back into his room to finish packing.

-( : )-

Elena knocked on Cloud's bedroom door, and he nodded for Reno to open it (he had been discussing with him possible ideas in order to become better acquainted with Aeris). The prince blinked in surprise when he saw who it was. "Elena, what are you doing here?" he asked.

The clock actually faintly smiled. "I have come to inform you that Miss Aeris has accepted your invitation to breakfast, sire," she answered.

Cloud's blue eyes grew wide with shock at her announcement. Reno smirked. "Aha! See? I told ya! Now, all we got to do is…"

However, Cloud wasn't listening. He smiled before running out of the room quickly from excitement.

Reno stared off in the direction where he ran, half surprised, half annoyed. "…is plan for our next move…" he finished to no one in particular.

-( : )-

Aeris sat nervously at the end of the table, looking down at the sleeve of the green dress Tifa had pulled out for her. The color was in a nice jade-green, and it had a mermaid skirt with quarter-length sleeves and a lace trim; the neckline was round and came no lower than the neckline on her usual pink dress. It was made out of a thin yet comfortable material that kept Aeris at the perfect internal temperature, and it looked lovely on her. Tifa had even found her a matching green ribbon to wear in her hair and a nice pair of black leather flats.

Quite frankly, Aeris did not know what to expect. The last time she saw the cursed prince, their meeting had been less than friendly. Though she did not want to become best friends with the man that had temporarily imprisoned her brother and stole her freedom, she did not want to anger him too greatly and get sent to the dungeon.

Before the young flower girl had a chance to ponder some more, the said prince came in. Aeris' green eyes widened in shock, and she immediately pushed her chair back and stood up, staring at him silently for a moment as he stared back. She did not know what to say to him, but she ended up bowing slightly and saying, "Good morning."

Cloud nodded, unsure of what to say himself. As excited as he was about having breakfast with her, he was still nervous about being around her, especially with no one around to give him advice about what to do or say. Finally, though, he managed to snap himself out of his stupor and respond with, "Good morning..."

She nodded, smiling faintly, and started walking towards her chair. It was then that Cloud suddenly remembered that a gentleman pulled out a chair for a lady and started rushing over. Aeris was first shocked when she saw him coming towards her and backed away out of fear, until she saw him pull back her chair, grinning almost nervously at her. Her green eyes widened in surprise, before she returned a small smile of her own and sat down in the chair. Cloud carefully pushed the chair back into the table and went over to the other side of the table to his own seat.

A couple of servants Aeris didn't know served them hot porridge, some fresh fruits, eggs, sausages, and sweet blueberry muffins with hot grey tea to drink. After playing with the bit of porridge left in her bowl for a moment, Aeris looked up at Cloud devouring his food.

"…What is your name?" she suddenly asked, making Cloud stop shoving another spoonful of food into his mouth midway. "I mean, what am I supposed to call you exactly?..."

He put down his spoon and looked down at his plate for a moment, silently. Aeris was about to ask if she had said something wrong, when he finally spoke. "Strife," he answered.

Her large green eyes blinked in surprise as she looked at him. "Strife?" she repeated, wanting to make sure she heard him correctly.

Slowly, he brought his blue eyes up to her and nodded. He knew he was lying to her, but he realized last night that his past was gone—Prince Cloud was gone. He no longer was that pampered prince but a lonely beast. His selfishness had caused everyone around him strife, so what would be a more appropriate name than that?

However, he snapped himself out of his thoughts when he saw Aeris faintly smile over at him. "Okay, then…" she began, "Prince Strife." He returned the smile as they both went back to eating, and the rest of breakfast went well.


	13. Human Again

**A/N:** Boo-yah! Two chapters back-to-back! Don't ya just love me some times? -grins-

**The Author 2:** No, we don't.

**VWP:** -glares-

**Ed the Alchemy Freak:** -walks in- Hey, what's going on?

**VWP:** -sighs- Nothing… So, did you hire today's guest?

**Ed:** Uh, heh, heh… Oops? -nervous grin-

**VWP:** ???? What?!

**Ed:** O.O Uh-oh…

**VWP:** How could you forget to hire the guest?!

**The Author 2:** Never fear! Aaron is here!

**VWP and Ed:** What?

**The Author 2: **-face faults- I hired today's guests…

**VWP:** Great! Who is it?

**The Author 2:** Riku and Sora from Kingdom Hearts!

**Riku and Sora:** -walk in-

**VWP:** Hello Riku, Sora! Welcome!

**Sora:** Thanks! It's great to be here!

**Riku:** Yeah… So, when are you actually going to have a fic that has US in it?...

**VWP:** Heh, I'm working on it!

**Rabid Yaoi Fangirls:** OMG! IT'S RIKU AND SORA! -squeal loudly-

**Sora:** Oh, no! The yaoi fangirls have found us again, Riku!

**Riku:** Shit! C'mon, Sora! Run! -runs out of there with Sora following-

**VWP:** -sighs- Well, it was nice while it lasted… Guess I'll do the disclaimer this time: I don't own FFVII, Kingdom Hearts, or _Beauty and the Beast_.

**Chapter Thirteen: Human Again**

Elena made her rounds about the castle, checking to make sure everything was in order, while Tseng was discussing some things with Cloud. She was halfway down the hall, when Reno began yelling for her. Curious, she turned around.

"Reno, what is it?" she asked.

"Look, you tell this stupid feather…whatever-the-hell-she-is that there's no way in hell I'm doing the dishes!" Reno snapped, glaring at Yuffie the whole time.

"Smelly old candle!" Yuffie snapped back.

"I am NOT a candle—I'm a CANDLESTICK!!"

The clock sighed heavily; she was used to this between Reno and Yuffie, but that didn't mean that those two could be annoying with all of their bickering. There was only way to settle this in a fair matter…

"RUDE!!!" Elena called at the top of her lungs.

Quickly, the coat hanger stepped into the room, staring at Elena silently. However, everyone was used to Rude being unusually quiet, so Elena merely continued.

"Rude, do you know who is assigned to do the dishes today?" she asked calmly.

"…It is both Reno AND Yuffie's turn, if I remember correctly," he answered.

Yuffie and Reno's jaws dropped in shock as they simply gaped at their companion before finally coming to their senses. "That's impossible!" they both declared at the same time.

Rude slightly shrugged, still as calm as when he first entered the room. "That is what is stated on the schedule posted by Tseng," he said monotonously.

Elena smirked happily with victory. Everyone knew that Rude was always honest, and there was no way either of the two 'troublemakers' (as she called them) could get out of their chore. Dejected, Reno and Yuffie slowly starting making their way towards the kitchen, still bickering.

-( : )-

"Strife?" Tseng asked, raising a stony brow.

"Yes," Cloud answered, his back to him as he stared out at the gray sky outside his balcony. It would probably rain today… The rain always brought back such terrible memories.

"But, why 'Strife', sire?" the gargoyle continued, still confused by this new development.

"Because… I am not Cloud…" came the calm response.

"What are you talking about? Of course you're Cloud! You have always been Prince Cloud, your Majesty!"

Cloud turned around and glared down at Tseng. "I am NOT Cloud anymore!" he yelled before turning towards the small table holding the rose and cautiously touched the glass with a clawed paw. "I am no longer a prince but a…a beast… For fifteen years, I have been living in strife… It's only fitting that I be called that now."

_It's almost been fifteen years, now…_the cursed prince thought mournfully. _In three months, it will be fifteen years to the exact day Sephiroth cursed me… I better get used to this form._

Seeing that he was not going to be able to change his mind, Tseng merely softly sighed and bowed his head. "It shall be done… I will inform everyone," he replied. The prince nodded, still not looking back at him, and Tseng left the room, leaving Cloud alone to brood.

-( : )-

Reeve was discussing with Shera about lunch plans, and Cid, Barret, Reno, and Yuffie kept talking about the breakfast date between Cloud and Aeris that morning.

"Do you think she's starting to finally fall for him?" Yuffie asked, almost spending more time gossiping than working.

"Hell yeah!" Reno exclaimed.

"Now, just hold on a goddamn minute there, Sparky!" Cid snapped. "They only had just a damn breakfast! It's not like they're shackin' up!"

If Shera was human, she would have blushed at Cid's choice of words. "Cid, please!" she hissed, but he paid her no mind.

The stove looked down at the creamer sympathetically. "How about steaks then?" he asked, trying to change the conversation for her sake.

Shera smiled at him gratefully. "Steaks would be good… We should probably have mushrooms and provolone cheese with that, as well as some biscuits."

"I like Miss Aeris," Marlene stated out of the blue. "She's pretty and nice."

Elena softly sighed. "Yes, she is very pretty…" she agreed, somewhat annoyed still with Tseng's affectionate gestures with her last night.

"Aww, what's wrong, 'Lena?" Reno asked loudly in an obnoxious tone.

She glared over at the candlestick. "NOTHING, and my name is ELENA!" she corrected him angrily.

"I have an announcement to make," Tseng replied as he walked into the kitchen, catching everyone's attention. "From now on, Prince Cloud wants us to refer to him as Strife."

"Why th' hell does that fool want us to call him that?!" Barret demanded.

Tseng sighed heavily. "To be honest, I'm not sure… He just wants us to call him that now." At that, no one else seemed to argue with the decision, no matter how weird they thought it was, and carried on with their chores.

-( : )-

Cloud took a deep breath as he stood outside her door. He was nervous…REALLY nervous. Slowly, he raised his hand and rapped on the door.

Aeris blinked in shock, having stopped her conversation with Tifa when she heard the knock. "Yes?" she asked.

"It's me," Cloud answered.

Not wanting to upset him, Aeris quickly got up and opened the door, giving a slight bow. "Hi," she replied.

"A…Are you busy with something?" he stammered.

Without even meaning to, Aeris giggled softly before smiling at him. "No, I'm not," she responded.

For a moment, Cloud stood there silently after murmuring, "okay" before he spoke again. "Would you like a tour of the castle?..." he offered.

Her green eyes widened in surprise slightly at his proposition before finally smiling faintly. "Of course," she agreed, stepping out of the doorway.

He grinned nervously and slowly held out his hand. "Let's start this way, then…" he started and was surprised when Aeris took his hand. Cloud turned and began walking with her down the hall with Tifa watching with a smile.

_Alright…way to go, your Highness…_ Tifa thought before leaving the room herself and see if the others needed help in the kitchen or just wanted to talk.

-( : )-

"Yo! What are you going to do when you're human again, Barret?" Reno asked loudly, still goofing off more so than working.

"Fool! What do you think?" Barret replied. "I'm gonna send Marlene to school!"

"Aww… But Papa! I don't like going to school!" Marlene whined at hearing her father's answer.

"Marlene! You GOTTA go to school!" he argued.

"But WHY?"

"Because, that's th' only way yer ever going to learn anything! I want you to become smart and have a good job!"

"Listen to your father, Marlene," Tifa replied, overhearing the discussion between the parent and child as she walked into the kitchen.

"Okay, Tifa…" Marlene pouted, while everyone laughed.

"What about you, Reno?" Yuffie asked.

"I'd go into town, get drunk, maybe have fuc…" he began but stopped when he saw the looks from Barret, Tifa, and Elena, "have FUN with a couple of broads."

Elena sighed and rolled her eyes. "You're so vulgar… What would you do, Rude?"

"…I'd be the one dragging Reno out of the bar…" he calmly answered, causing everyone to laugh while Reno scoffed.

"What would you do, Elena?" Tseng asked.

If she could have, she would have more than likely blushed, and Reno silently snickered, knowing of his co-worker's feelings for the gargoyle. "I would finally take a break from everything…just go have a nice dinner in town, then come back and relax in a nice chair and have some hot tea," she answered.

"Damn right about the tea!" Cid remarked before laughing.

"How about you, Shera?" Tifa asked.

Shera glanced over at Cid briefly before looking back down to continue the cleaning. "Nothing different, really…" she lied. "I probably would just read more and take a good bath."

Tifa knew she was lying but didn't confront her about it. Just about everyone in the castle knew about Shera's devotion to Cid…except for Cid, himself.

"What about yourself, Tifa?" Shera asked, looking over at the wardrobe.

"Oh, I'd…"

-( : )-

"The West Wing used to house the royal family until my grandfather decided to remodel it, and since then, the royal family have been residing in the East Wing," Cloud stated.

"What's in the West Wing now?" Aeris asked as she slowly walked on ahead, staring at the detailed paintings on the walls. When Aeris first walked down here, it seemed so gloomy and dark, but now, during the daytime, it seemed more like the rest of the castle: enchanted.

While the gothic gargoyles that adorned the pillars down the hall were still creepy, she noticed the walls were silver painted over with vines of dark green leaves and thorns with royal blue and black roses. Seeing the unique design reminded her of Vincent, and thought comforted her a little while she was alone in this strange castle.

Cloud snapped out of his daze from staring at her and answered, "Well, besides a few guest rooms, like the one you're staying in, there is a study as well as a couple of weapon rooms."

"Weapon rooms?" Aeris repeated, turning around to face him with a puzzled yet amused expression. "Like having swords, Prince Strife?"

He smiled faintly. "A little bit…and just Strife," he replied.

"But that wouldn't be right… You ARE a prince," she argued.

Cloud shook his head. "Take a look, Aeris…I'm no prince," he began, "I'm now just the owner of a large, cursed house."

She looked at him like she wanted to still debate him on the topic, but she didn't and almost sighed softly. "Alright…Strife," she consented and turned away sadly, going back to gazing at the walls as she slowly wandered down the hall.

The prince watched her for a moment and was fixing to follow her once more, when a voice to his right spoke up.

"Man, she IS hot!" a suit of armor exclaimed to Cloud.

His blue eyes widened in shock before he glared at the suit of armor standing there. "Zack!" he hissed.

"What?" Zack retorted, completely confused about what had Cloud annoyed. "I'm just saying that if I was still human, I'd hit on her!"

Cloud glared still and growled.

"Okay, okay!" Zack quickly exclaimed. "I won't—I promise!"

The blue-eyed prince huffed at him before leaving Zack to go follow Aeris.

"Geez…someone's jealous…" Zack mumbled under his breath once he was sure Cloud couldn't hear him.

* * *

**A/N:** I mean no offense to yaoi fans out there, I just wrote that in there for comical purposes. Hope you enjoyed the chappie! 


	14. Do You Believe in Magic

**A/N:** I'm so sorry this is so late! Sadly, I've had this chapter done almost a whole month, but I've just been so busy lately with school that I haven't had a chance to get online to post it! (I haven't even read a fic in months… -sob- ) Anyways, yes, here is chapter fourteen, and I'm almost done with fifteen too! So, please enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own _Beauty & the Beast_ or FFVII… When will you believe me?

**Chapter Fourteen: Do You Believe in Magic?**

Vincent placed the last bag onto the wagon before climbing aboard Nanaki. "C'mon, this way…" he murmured as he began riding off towards Corel. Unlike before, Nanaki didn't argue and went exactly where Vincent directed him to go. He still felt bad and responsible for what happened to Aeris, and he knew Vincent was working on a way to rescue her, and Nanaki wanted to help in any way he possibly could.

_Aeris…please say you're safe, little sister…_ Vincent thought as he continued on his journey.

- ( : ) -

"This place is so HUGE!" Aeris exclaimed, glancing around the walls of the ballroom, before twirling around and facing him with a smile on her face, her hands behind her back.

Cloud had to smile faintly at her reaction. He was born and raised in the castle, so he had become very accustomed to the lavish settings. He had forgotten how mysterious a place like this would seem to someone else. It was interesting watching a person see a palace for the first time.

"When was the last time you were here?" she asked, staring up at the ceiling, looking at the intricate scenery painted on there.

His blue eyes widened in shock at her question, remembering that cold night…

Noticing he wasn't answering her question, Aeris tore her eyes away from the decorated ceiling and looked down and behind her at her companion. He seemed like he was in a trance. "Strife?" she asked gently, trying to catch his attention, but he stood there, silently staring at something she knew she couldn't see. Slowly, she walked over to him, and leaned up on her tiptoes, staring into his blue eyes. "Strife?... Strife, are you okay?" she asked louder.

"What?" Cloud asked, snapping out of his daze and almost blushed when he noticed how close she was to him.

Aeris frowned slightly, going back down on her heels, looking up at him concerned. "I asked if you were okay…" she answered, her voice trailing off.

"I'm fine," he coolly responded and turned away and started walking.

She stared at his fleeing back for a moment longer before following him, determined to find out what had just happened.

- ( : ) -

"How much more time do we have?" Elena asked Tseng, following him on their rounds.

"Just a little under three months," Tseng grimly answered. A moment of silence passed between them before he asked, "Elena…do you believe it's possible for a person to fall in love in less than three months?"

Elena stopped while Tseng kept walking. Truth be told, she fell in love with Tseng within weeks… Not like she could ever tell him that though. Finally, she came to her senses and followed him once more. "Yes, sir," she began, "I do believe they can..."

- ( : ) -

Rufus was petting his greyhound with one hand while scanning over yesterday's profits before he sighed in boredom and casually tossed the black notebook onto his desk. He propped his elbows up on his desk and grabbed his hands together, staring at nothing, deep in thought.

Two more days… He couldn't believe he, the vice president of ShinRa Inc. and mayor of Midgar had to wait two more days for one lousy doctor to come into town to act upon his plan.

Then again, he supposed that it was a small price to pay if he got Aeris in fact to be his wife. A beautiful woman like her on his side would just about ensure good-looking children and having a good-looking family on his hands would help him to become more popular with the town, so popular in fact, that he hoped he could get the public to demand him to take over ShinRa Inc. as president from his father. Once that happened, he could finally run the company the way HE wanted to and actually make record profits, unlike his old man.

- ( : ) -

Aeris had always been curious, even as a young child, and she was just as stubborn. Once she had her mind set on something, she couldn't be talked out of it.

And right now, she was curious about a certain prince…well, EX-prince to be exact. Just exactly what made "Strife" the way he was? She wasn't going to rest until she found out.

She didn't know where he had went off to, since she lost sight of him when he started going down the West Wing, but she decided then it was finally time to explore the East Wing. With one last glance back towards the West Wing to make sure he wasn't around, she quickly and quietly began creeping towards the East Wing.

Unlike the West Wing, the walls were a dark maroon color with an intricate gold design overlaying it. A few paintings adorned the walls, all of various family members she assumed, and the pillars were a dark blue with the night sky painted on them. Aeris could see why they chose to live in this side of the castle; it seemed more…regal.

At first, she didn't see anything that appeared to be so special about the East Wing, until she did a double-take at the wall. There was one spot where the gold design seemed SLIGHTLY different than the rest of the wall. She walked towards to it, to get a closer look, when she noticed that the candle holder right above her held no wax. Even if it was during the day, there still should have been some wax in it, so that way, when night came, all the servant had to do was light the wick. The bottom part of the stand looked loose, but when she went to tighten it, the wall swung open, revealing a small, dim-lit hallway.

For a moment, she almost didn't walk in. What if Strife or one of the others caught her? What was she going to do then? But, curiosity won out in the end, and she took a deep breath to calm herself and began walking down the hallway. When the wall shut behind her, she turned back around, at first frantic, until she found an identical candle holder with the same loose part. Reassured now that she wasn't trapped inside the hidden hallway, she continued her exploring.

- ( : ) -

It was late in the afternoon when Vincent stopped to rest Nanaki. He had disconnected the wagon to him and was allowing him to graze in the green field. Since Nanaki was going to take his time eating to refresh himself, Vincent decided to take a small break and eat a small snack himself. He sat down on the grass and pulled out a small piece of jerky that was held in the red pouch on his belt. Curiously, he pulled out the Chaos Theory book from the wagon and carefully opened the cover, his scarlet eyes scanning over the first page.

_Lucrecia…what were you up to?..._ he thought as he began reading.


	15. It's All Coming Together

**A/N: **This took a little bit longer than I thought it would to write it. But, I think it was worth the wait! -smile- It's almost six pages long, and quite frankly, I'm proud of it. Anyways, I think the fic is close to being halfway over now. I'm planning on trying to completely finish it by St. Patrick's Day by the latest. By then, I'll have another FFVII fic coming out, lol. Anyways, enjoy and show me some love and review!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Final Fantasy VII or Disney's _Beauty and the Beast_.

Chapter Fifteen: It's All Coming Together

Aeris wandered down the dark hallway, not sure what she was looking for, but feeling as though something was calling to her. She passed by several doors, until she came upon one to her right. Unlike the other doors she had seen, this one was black, almost blending in perfectly with the dark stoned walls. Her hands felt out for a doorknob, and she grabbed hold of the latch and pushed the door open. Quickly, she stepped inside and closed the door behind her before looking around.

It was a small room, lit by a couple of candle stands and a simple chandelier. The walls were almost covered with black silk curtains, and the floor was made out of a smooth, pale gray stone. Several books were scattered on the floor as well. Aeris picked up one at her feet and tried to read it, but it was written in a language she did not know. A bookcase to her left caught her eye, and she walked towards it, intending to place the book back, when she scanned the titles of the various books there.

"Magic!" she gasped softly, her green eyes widening in surprise.

Then again, it WAS an enchanted castle, so it shouldn't surprise her that there were books about magic here. But the only place she had read about magic were in fairy tales; she had never seen an actual book dedicated to the subject.

There were so many to choose from, she didn't know where to start. Finally, she saw a green leather-bound one entitled _Elements of Nature_, and she decided on that one. It was a little smaller than most of the other books, but at least this one would give her a little bit of background information.

She put the book she was holding back into one of the shelves and took out the green one. Carefully, she opened up the cover and went to the first page. Thankfully, this one she could read. She closed up the book again and smiled faintly. NOW she had something to look forward while staying here. Making sure she didn't disturb anything in the room, Aerith silently left and walked down and out of the hallway before retreating back to her room to begin reading her new book.

- ( : ) -

Vincent was finally relieved when he reached Corel late that afternoon. With all the equipment he had brought in order to make the materia, as well as the books on the subject, it made a very heavy load for Nanaki to carry (not to mention, there was also Vincent and the cart). The scarlet-eyed man forgot what a heavy burden would do to the poor creature, and though it delayed his journey, he took breaks frequently, allowing Nanaki a chance to conserve his energy.

He untied Nanaki to the wagon and patted his back gently. "Go eat," he murmured to him. The red horse snorted softly and trotted off, leaving Vincent alone with his equipment. He grabbed an over-the-shoulder bag and packed it with a pick and hammer. Now, he just had to find the old mines.

- ( : ) -

Cloud knew he owed Aeris an explanation, but he didn't know how to tell her… Besides, it was a topic Cloud didn't like to think about. In fact, he wished he could forget the matter entirely.

…But of course, as soon as he looked in a mirror or down at his hands, it would come crashing down again.

Why bother pretending something so obvious wasn't real in order to gain temporarily fake happiness?

It wasn't just worth it.

He growled softly as he tore his eyes away from the gray sky and left the balcony and retreated back into the dark sanctuary of his room. For a moment, he stood in the middle of the room, and he almost went to his bed to rest, but he went to the small table and picked up the magic mirror.

"Show me Aeris," he ordered.

The mirror glowed blue, and in the glass, an image of Aeris in her room, sitting on her bed, reading a book appeared. A faint smile was on her face, and she seemed perfectly content to just be reading that book.

Well, Cloud figured, at least she found the library. He didn't know she liked to read, but he should have asked her what she liked to do, what her hobbies were. After all, who wanted to just sit around and do nothing all the time? Maybe, he could make up for it at dinner… There was only one way to find out.

With a deep breath, he put down the mirror and left his room.

- ( : ) -

Vincent panted softly, having been crawling in a small cave for the past hour, when he noticed a larger opening up ahead. Thank God for that too—his knees were starting to hurt. Renewed by this, Vincent crawled quicker until he went through the opening and stood on his own two feet.

If Aeris was here, she would probably be fussing over what a mess he was.

Aeris…

He felt his jaw clench at the thought of his beloved little sister. _Even if I have to drag myself through the deepest pits of Hell, I will save you, Aeris…_ he thought grimly before he brought his eyes over to the sight he had wanted to see ever since he started this trip…

…A natural "spring" made of Mako…

Without a word, he walked over and took out his pick and began hacking at the crystal-like material.

- ( : ) -

Tifa was off helping the rest of the staff in the kitchen, and while Aeris did feel lonely (and had TRIED to help before), she didn't want to be a burden and get in their way, so she stayed in her room. She was half-considering to take a nap (she planned to go out exploring some more after Tifa was asleep), when she heard a soft knock at her door.

"Who is it?" she asked curiously, looking up from her book.

"It's me," Cloud answered.

Recognizing the deep, almost gruff voice, Aeris inaudibly gasped. "Just a minute!" she chimed quickly, not wanting him to catch her with the book. She dog-eared the page she was on before she slid it underneath the pillow. The young flower girl straightened out her skirt before she went over and opened the door, smiling faintly. "Hello, Strife," she greeted.

Cloud looked down at Aeris and almost choked. Why was he nervous? "Hi…" he began unsurely.

She smiled, slightly confused at his attitude, but she still remained polite. "Is there something on your mind, Strife?" she asked.

He cleared his throat, hoping the words would come out right. "I was wondering if you would join me for dinner?" he requested, remembering from last time that being polite might help his case.

"Sure," she answered, her faint smile still there.

"Really?" he blurted out before thinking.

Aeris giggled softly at his blunt reaction and replied with, "Yes, really."

He cleared his throat softly, becoming calm once more. "Good… I'll have Elena or Tseng come and tell you when dinner is ready." Aeris consented, and with a short goodbye, she went back into her room, shutting her door. Cloud stared at it a moment longer, smiling.

Maybe there was now a chance it could work.

With a hopeful half smile, he went back to his chambers to get ready.

- ( : ) -

Rufus was finishing his dinner of a fine, thick steak and garlic mashed potatoes when Hiegdarr came running in, waving a piece of paper in his hand. "This had better be good…" Rufus murmured as he wiped his mouth with his napkin.

"Oh, it is, sir, it is…" Hiegdarr replied, grinning from ear-to-ear. He walked (or rather waddled) over to the blond-haired future tycoon. "I just got a telegram… The doctor is making good time; he'll be here by tomorrow."

"Do you know what time he'll be in tomorrow?" Rufus asked calmly.

"Uhh…" Hiegdarr began, completely caught off-guard by his question. "Well, I CAN find out…" he finally replied.

"See that you do," Rufus started, "After all…we want to make sure the good doctor's comfortable…"

- ( : ) -

While Cloud enjoyed having breakfast with the young flower girl, he was more nervous about dinner. He sat down at the dining table, getting all sorts of "advice" from his servants.

"No slouching," Tseng offered. "Try to sit up straight, your Highness."

"And keep your damn elbows off the damn table!" Cid snapped.

"Cid, please!" Shera hissed softly, in a futile attempt once again to try to get the teapot to control his language. "And now, remember, your Majesty," she began, "outer to inner with all of the utensils."

"And don't wolf down your food!" Elena chimed in.

"Don't let your eyes wander! Women like eye contact!" Barret informed.

"But we HATE it when you ogle…" Yuffie grumbled, glaring daggers at a familiar candlestick.

"Be sure to make conversation," Rude ironically advised.

"Make sure though that you don't do all the talking or that you just sit in silence. We like it when you respond to what we're saying," Tifa told him with a small smile.

"Tell her she looks pretty!" Marlene exclaimed.

"And DON'T blow it!" Reno warned loudly.

…Needless to say, Cloud was very confused, getting a headache, and becoming even more nervous. Aeris was supposed to come down any minute though, so there was no time to back out now. He took a deep breath and relaxed back in his seat, waiting for Aeris to appear.

- ( : ) -

Aeris actually decided to leave her long, brown hair down. However, since she just about always kept it in a braid, her locks were wavy. She chose a long-sleeve, off-the-shoulder, purple silk gown. The skirt was so long it almost dragged on the floor slightly, and she kept her old brown hiking boots on. Looking in the mirror, she blushed faintly. Now she looked like the princesses she had always read about in her books.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the door, snapping Aeris out of her thoughts. "Yes?" she asked.

"Hi, I'm here to escort you to dinner!" Zack chimed.

Not recognizing the voice, Aeris frowned slightly and went over, opening the door, coming face-to-face with a suit of armor. "I thought Strife said it would be Elena or Tseng… Who are you?" she asked curiously, still standing in the doorway.

If he could have, Zack would have smiled. Instead, he just laughed. "Tseng and Elena were busy in the kitchen, so they sent me. My name's Zack," he introduced himself, holding his hand out to her. Hoping he wouldn't kiss her hand too, Aeris took a hold of his. Thankfully, he only shook hers. "So, are you ready to go?" he asked.

Aeris couldn't help but giggle softly for some reason. He seemed so upbeat; it was nice for a change. "Yes," she answered and began walking with him down to the dining hall.


End file.
